Love All, Trust A Few, Do Wrong To None
by lumisakom
Summary: Shion is the perfect student. He is currently attending a prestigious academy and leads a comfortable, quiet, ordinary life with his mother and best friend in Lost Town. However, a mysterious and dangerous transfer student lurks on the horizon, and little does Shion know his life is about to be turned upside down. [Nezushi High School AU]
1. Chapter 1

**I _know _I should be updating _Thinner_... But I just recently got into the No. 6 fandom and I can't control my feelings, so I've been writing this on my phone as a drug. Trust me, once I've got this out of my system I will continue to focus all my attention on _Thinner_, which I know I need to.**

**This fic actually began its life as a short oneshot... which is now part of the third chapter.**

**Disclaimer.**

_[EDIT 14/05/14: Fixed some grammatical mistakes that were really bothering me.]_

* * *

_**Love All, Trust A Few, Do Wrong To None**_

* * *

"Hey, Shion," a brunette girl whispers conspiratorially from the desk behind him. "Have you heard about the transfer student?"

"Transfer student?" Violet eyes glance up with mild surprise as their owner swivels around in his seat. "But this is an elite academy. You have to pass all sorts of IQ tests and go through the training programme... Not just anyone can get into this school. Are you sure it's not just some kind of mistake? A rumour?"

Safu's chestnut eyes are gleaming. "I've _seen_ him." Her serious expression morphs into a rare smirk. "He's just as good-looking as the rumours say. Tall, dark and handsome, you know the stereotype. And apparently he's an arts whiz. Music, drama, lit... All that." She huffs. "Not really like us at all."

Shion blinks. He's heard rumours of a transfer student, but not for one moment has he considered it a serious possibility. _What kind of person would transfer in halfway through the fourth year?_

"Settle down, class," their teacher calls wearily from the front of the spacious room. "I have an important announcement." She waits irritably for silence until she continues. "Tomorrow, we will be welcoming a new student into our class."

The class erupts into raucous noise and gossip, loud '_I told you so_'s thrown every which way, until the teacher hollers for them to '_shut up_'.

A hand shoots into the air. "Miss," she questions eagerly, "Is it a girl?"

She snorts. "It's not like I'm _pregnant_, geez. No, it's a boy." She shushes the growing noise and answers the bubbling questions before they explode. "He's seventeen, dark hair, tall and rides a motorbike. 'Fraid I don't know anything else. You'll have to ask him yourself tomorrow."

A group of girls in the far corner begin to grumble, but they are quickly cut off by an annoyed rap on the projector screen. "I'm trying to teach a lesson, kids. Save your sad love woes until _after_ class, okay?"

* * *

Shion lets out a wispy sigh, rolling onto his side to face the window, where he can see the street lights winking at him through the thin fabric of the curtain. For some reason, he is apprehensive about tomorrow. Is apprehensive the correct word? _Perhaps 'nervous' or 'agitated' are better,_ he thinks to himself.

Whatever the feeling is, it's creating a tight knot in his gut and Shion knows he won't be able to sleep any time soon. He reluctantly pushes the covers off his lanky frame and fumbles for his glasses on the bedside table before plodding downstairs clad only in a plain vest and boxers, making a beeline for the kitchen cupboard above the dishwasher.

He supposes he should be bothered by the chilly spring air, but he is too busy caught up in a web of uncomfortable and anxious thoughts to concentrate on much else besides making himself a steaming hot mug of cocoa.

* * *

He swears under his breath. He overslept, and is already twenty minutes behind schedule. There's no way Safu is still waiting to walk to school together - punctuality is one of her strengths - so Shion grabs the handles of his battered bike and flings himself at it. He hurtles down the road at top speed, narrowly avoiding a few crashes, and shoots through the gates at five minutes past nine. Shion isn't quite sure where he abandoned his bike, but by the time he reaches the third floor - where fourth-year classes are situated - he's utterly exhausted.

He hastily turns a corner in a hurry to reach his classroom, but instead of empty corridor, his vision is suddenly full of an ocean of stormy grey and Shion is so drowned in their depths that he loses what little balance he was maintaining and crashes to the ground, bringing a heavy something down with him.

He opens his eyes, but immediately closes them again as they are assaulted by the harsh lighting. He searches the floor for his tinted glasses and puts them back on.

Above him, sitting up and rubbing irritably at their shoulder, is the most beautiful person Shion has ever seen. The messy long hair and feminine features would ordinarily lead Shion to believe they're a woman, but those thoughts are dashed as soon as they proceed to shrug off their oversized biker jacket to inspect the blossoming bruises on their arm, revealing broad shoulders and a distinctly flat chest.

"Fuck's sake," a rich, smooth voice grumbles deeply. The stranger casts an annoyed look at Shion - now also sitting up - but does a graceful double-take as Shion's appearance registers, stormy grey eyes wide and jaw slack.

Shion is used to looks like this. Albinism is rare, after all. He receives lots of looks varying from ones of interest and curiosity to ones of shock and even downright fear.

"Sorry," he murmurs to the beautiful stranger, feeling really rather clumsy and somehow inadequate in front of the man, who by this point is blatantly staring at him.

There's a tense pause, but the man _tsks_ at him and pulls himself up, not bothering to dust off the dirt on his well-worn khakis. Shion remains on the floor in a daze.

Pleasant surprise washes over him as a slender pale hand is offered down to him. It gestures impatiently for him to take it, so he does. The skin is unexpectedly calloused.

Shion pushes himself up, but quickly realises he didn't need to as the stranger's pull is shockingly strong, and Shion feels almost weightless in his hold.

It's not an unpleasant feeling.

"Are you okay?" Shion asks after a moment, noticing the emerging purple and blue marks on the man's arm, which must've taken the brunt of the fall.

The calloused warmth leaves his palm.

"I've had worse." The jacket is shrugged on in a single fluid motion. Shion notices the man's eyes are fixed on Shion's hair and he suddenly feels quite uncomfortable. The silver gaze drifts down to meet lilac, and a dark eyebrow is raised. "Don't you have class?"

Shion's jaw drops and he brings a pale hand up to his face. It's nearly twenty minutes past nine now - he's going to be horribly late no matter how much he hurries, so he resigns himself to his fate and sighs. "Damn."

Thin lips twist into a smirk. "Oh well. What's one class skipped, after all?"

"It's a big deal," Shion protests. "I've never skipped class before - never even been late, either."

"Seriously?" The stranger lets out an amused but somewhat condescensing sort of huff. "Wow, kid, you need to live a little."

Shion frowns. "_Kid?_" he echoes. "I'm a senior. I'm eighteen."

Now _that_ earns him a look of shock.

"... I thought you were a freshman. Sorry." Though he doesn't sound sorry at all. "You have such a baby face, really." The man laughs. "You must get asked for ID all the time."

Shion huffs and crosses his arms, mildly insulted. Sure, he looks a little young for his age - but surely not a _freshman_.

"I'm a senior too, actually," the stranger says after a while, out of the blue. He leans his back against the corridor wall. "We might be in the same class."

This catches Shion's attention. "You're the new transfer student, then?" _Wow, I thought he was a teacher or something. _"What's your name?"

"Nezumi." He exhales. "What about you, kid?"

"I told you, I'm not a kid. I'm older than you, anyway. And it's Shion."

Nezumi smirks. "You're short and you look fifteen. You're still a kid to me. And how do you know how old I am?"

"I'm not short," Shion grumbles. Nezumi's only an inch or two taller. It's nothing, really. "And the teacher told us yesterday in class. I'm not a creep."

"If you say so, kid."

Shion ignores the nickname, and finds himself automatically joining the man, his back to the white wall.

"So why're you transferring so late? You'll barely have six months here before you graduate."

"Got kicked out of my old school. My old man wants me to finish high school, and this was the nearest one."

Violet eyes bulge - for a punctual, obedient, straight-A student like Shion, getting expelled from school is something of a distant fantasy. He silently takes in the scuffed biker jacket, the rough, calloused hands, the faint smell of cigarette smoke... Shion squints at the man's sharp profile and notices a small scar across his eyebrow. _Like a boxer's scar._ He inhales. _Perhaps this man is dangerous._

He pushes the thought to the back of his mind. "What did you do to get _expelled_?" he inquires with bewilderment.

A glance is cast his way, swirling full of icy dark humour. It sends a cold shiver down Shion's spine.

He doesn't ask any more after that.

* * *

They arrive fashionably early for their next class - coincidentally, a class they both take. The teacher bursts into the classroom minutes later in a flurry of papers.

"Oh..." he exclaims at the sight of the unfamiliar face. "You must be Nezumi," he greets kindly as he dumps the stack of disorganised books on his desk. He holds out a gloved hand. "It's nice to meet you."

Nezumi takes the proffered hand politely. "You too, professor."

"Professor," he repeats to himself with a smile as he withdraws behind his desk. "I don't get called that often."

He seemingly only just notices Shion's presence at the side of the classroom, sitting quietly at his desk and staring out of the window. "Ah, Shion. You're early. Isn't the previous lesson still in session?"

"Uh-"

Nezumi smoothly cuts him off. "We were let out of class early so that Shion could show me around a little."

"Oh, I see." The teacher returns to his papers as he rummages through the disarray, seemingly looking for something.

Shion catches Nezumi's eye - the man is smirking again. Shion feels like he should be irritated... but he isn't. Instead, he gestures to the seat in front of him - Safu sits behind him and the seat to his right is occupied, but he knows the seat in front of him is always empty.

He didn't expect Nezumi to comply, but the taller student is somehow _gliding_ across the classroom, and he slips gracefully into the wooden chair. Shion can't help but admire the elegance of every action.

"Do you dance?"

A jet black head looks up from whatever book he was reading - _where did he get that from _- and turns around, a deadpan expression on his face. "Seriously, Shion? Where the fuck did that come from?"

"I was just asking."

At Shion's straight face, the incredulous expression shifts subtly into one of bemusement. Nezumi says slowly, "Sure, I dance."

A small victory smile blooms on Shion's face. "I knew it."

Nezumi shifts fully around, leaning his uninjured elbow on Shion's desk. He fixes Shion with a narrow stare, as if he's trying to solve a difficult puzzle.

It makes Shion intensely uncomfortable, as if his soul is being utterly bared to those sharp charcoal eyes. He's about to tell the man just that, when the door opens loudly and Nezumi's gaze snaps towards it. The moment is gone, and so is the awkward feeling in Shion's gut.

"Oh hey, Shion's already here," a brown-haired classmate calls from the doorway. Shion can't remember his name.

Two girls follow him inside, hair curled perfectly and held in position by so much hairspray Shion can smell it from across the room. "Eh? Who's that with him?" one asks.

"Maybe it's the transfer student," a lanky student answers casually.

"Yeah, but why's he with _Shion_?"

More and more students are flooding into the classroom. Nezumi removes his arm from Shion's desk.

"Is that a girl?"

"Do they know each other?"

"Maybe they're friends."

"Maybe they're _dating_."

"Ha, as if a recluse like Shion could get a girlfriend."

The teacher clears his throat loudly and waves his hands at the raucous class gently. "Sit down, get your books out, everyone..."

When Shion looks up to copy down the lesson heading into his notes from the projector screen, he realises getting stupidly-tall Nezumi to sit directly in front of him might have been a dumb decision.

He leaves class with a horrible strain in his neck.

* * *

Shion paces around the tiled floor. If he goes to the canteen to eat lunch like usual, he'll be bombarded with questions about Nezumi. It was difficult enough escaping his classmates as they left the room - some of the single girls were quite persistent. He doesn't want to ruin his lunchbreak with the same experience. _Sorry, Safu,_ he mentally apologises. _I'll have to abandon you today._

His mind set, he leaves the bathroom quickly and heads for the roof. Students aren't technically allowed there, but Shion is well-liked by the lunch patrol and so frequently gets away with it.

When he reaches the wide expanse, he is suddenly grateful for his cardigan. The March breeze is unusually chilly.

Shion glances around warily, in case any teachers are around - they have been known to occasionally eat lunch on the roof if the weather permits - but after a few minutes he relaxes as he comes to the conclusion that he is utterly alone.

Wrongly.

Shion freezes in place as a deep voice reaches his ears through the wind.

"Seriously, what the hell?" it grumbles at nothing. "You're such a moron." There is a pause. "No, I'm not dropping your lunch off at school. _I'm _at school too, in case you've forgotten." Another pause, and Shion realises the person must be on the phone. "Well then don't forget tomorrow. Ask the old man, he's a sap. _He _might - if you beg like your mutts do."

There's a small _click_ and Shion guesses the phone call is over. He quietly approaches the voice on the other side of the electrical storeroom. When he peeks out from around the corner, he lets out a breath of relief. "Oh, it's you."

"Yeah, it's me," Nezumi replies sullenly from his place slouched on the floor. "You're not very subtle, by the way. I heard you as soon as you opened the access door."

"Real- _agh!_" Shion tumbles gracelessly to his knees on the concrete beside Nezumi, who fixes him with a very unimpressed look.

"Clumsy," Nezumi comments as he takes a bite out of his rye bread roll.

Shion frowns as he rubs his ankle, which had caught on the base of the wall as he turned. "It's not my fault," he mumbles. "I don't have any depth perception or spacial awareness."

"That's obvious."

Shion furrows his brow in a mixture of pain and annoyance. "No, I mean I literally don't. Vision problems are a side-effect of albinism."

The taller man stills. He swallows his mouthful. "... Oh. That sucks."

Shion shrugs awkwardly. "It's been like this since I was born. I'm used to it."

Nezumi is watching him, apparently listening. His lunch is either forgotten or ignored beside him. "Isn't that why you wear glasses? To improve your vision like any other person?"

"Well yes," Shion says slowly, "but this isn't ordinary short-sightedness and it's very difficult to correct... Even with the glasses, my vision is still a bit out of focus.

"I consider myself lucky though," Shion continues, if only to fill the silence. "Many albinos suffer from nystagmus or strabismus - or can't see at all - which are much worse, in my opinion. At least my vision is workable. Everything's just... blurry."

Nezumi draws a knee up to his chest and rests his cheek on it, facing Shion. "Lucky, huh..." he breathes quietly as he considers the man in front of him. "Most people would complain about it endlessly, or live their lives feeling disgustingly sorry for themselves. Don't you ever resent the life you're living?"

Shion blinks in surprise. "_Resent_ it?" He smiles awkwardly. "No, I couldn't. I go to a wonderful school and I live in a nice house with a stable income and a mother who loves me. What's a bit of inconvenience, really?"

The beaming grin he flashes Nezumi is brighter than a July noon.

* * *

"I'm home," Shion says cheerfully as he enters, thought it is unnecessary as Karan is behind the counter, stacking warm bread rolls, and can see him clearly.

"Hello, sweetie. How was your day?"

Shion dumps his bag on the floor with a sigh. He glances up to meet his mother's gaze - she is dusted in a fine layer of flour. "Good, I guess. Exhausting." At her pointed look, he elaborates. "You know the transfer student I mentioned? He arrived today."

"Oh!" she exclaims, hurrying around the counter. "Well this is news. What is he like?"

Shion follows his mother into the back room, which serves as both a dining room and lounge. "He's..." Shion inhales. "Interesting."

A brown eyebrow is raised. "'Interesting'?" she repeats. "I don't think you've ever described anything other than your Ecology class as 'interesting' before." She settles into the worn, cosy loveseat, and Shion follows suit, fresh bread roll in hand.

"Yeah," Shion replies. He rips off a small chunk of the roll absent-mindedly. "I guess I haven't."

"So what about this boy is 'interesting', hm?" At Shion's raised eyebrows, a bright laugh chimes. "I'm interested, Shion. It's not every day you get a transfer student at that school - never mind one you find _interesting_!"

Shion sighs, and avoids eye contact. "We bumped into each other in the corridor," he mumbles. Why is he so awkward talking about this? "Quite literally, actually."

Karan smiles, nudging him softly in the arm. "That can't have been it, Shion. I know you. What happened? Was it-" She abruptly cuts herself off, and her face drains of colour. "Oh no, nothing _bad_ happened, did it? He wasn't nasty to you, or-"

"No!" Shion interjects with force. "No, Mama, nothing like that happened. It wasn't a bad thing at all, just... out of the ordinary."

Karan fixes him with a concerned gaze nevertheless. "Are you sure? You know, Shion, if anything _does_ happen - if they start bullying you again - or anything else - you can always tell me, okay?"

"I know," Shion reassures her softly. "But everything's been fine recently. I promise."

"Okay," Karan says. She runs a hand lovingly through thick white locks before heaving herself up off the old sofa with a bright smile. "I'll make us some dinner and you can tell me all about him."


	2. Chapter 2

**Well don't expect such a quick update next time. I'm still halfway through the next chapter. Still, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer.**

* * *

_**Love All, Trust A Few, Do Wrong To None**_

* * *

Shion hasn't spoken with Nezumi since the day he arrived - Tuesday. It's now Friday. _It can't be helped, I suppose,_ Shion thinks idly as he gazes out of the window. _We have hardly any classes together. I'm an Ecology major and he's a Drama major._

"Shion."

Said boy blinks, and looks up. His Calculus teacher seems to be glaring at him - _How long has he been trying to get my attention for?_

"Yes, sir?"

"Class ended five minutes ago. I suggest you hurry, before you're late for your next lesson."

"... _Eh?_"

* * *

Shion sprints down the hallway; luckily his next class - World History - is fairly close by.

He skids to a stop outside the door just as the last remnants of his classmates are filing in, clears his throat and enters the classroom in a cool, calm and collected manner.

Well, he _attempts_ to.

When questioned later, Shion will stubbornly refuse to admit tripping over a haphazardly placed schoolbag.

He glances around uninterestedly as the lesson plan is recited in a dreary voice. Pairwork, cultural studies, team project etc etc. Shion doesn't know why he chose the subject - science is more his forte. Unfortunately, he was required to pick between Geography, World History and Philosophy.

"Now who doesn't have a partner?"

Shion raises his hand; Safu elected to take Geography, leaving him without a friend in the class.

A redheaded girl is ordered to sit beside him. She does so - but with an irritated grimace.

Shion coughs, and wonders if he's done something to offend her.

She turns to him and says confidently, "We're going to study the Great War."

An ivory eyebrow is raised - the sentence wasn't posed as a question. "Uh, okay."

It's a little depressing for Shion's taste, but it seems she's very (morbidly) interested in it, so he lets her be.

Anyway - if he's lucky, her enthusiasm will leave him with little work to do, giving him more time to work on his Independent Studies project for his Ecology class.

The class is already beginning to mutter, despite the fact that the teacher is still droning on.

"Ah, yes, the transfer student... We'd best pair you up with a successful student, hm? So they can explain the curriculum to you..."

"Isn't that _your_ job?" the redhead mutters with annoyance.

Shion suppresses a grin. Perhaps it isn't _him _- she seems to just be an angry sort of person.

_Wait... _Shion's breath hitches. _Transfer student?_

A tall girl stands, and Shion's gaze follows her as she makes her way across the room. She gracefully lowers herself into a seat beside - _beside Nezumi_.

"What?" Shion's partner demands brusquely. "We need to get going. There's no time to have your head up in the clouds."

"Sorry," he responds lightly. She huffs and begins to immerse herself in work. Shion knows he should probably do the same if he wants to keep his perfect GPA, but he can't help but watch as her dull green eyes morph into glimmering emeralds at her research topic. He's faintly amused by it.

She continually prods him in an effort to make him produce work - but for some reason, Shion finds his concentration span is unusually short and he repeatedly spaces out, letting stormy grey and charcoal black fill his mind's eye.

"For God's sake," the girl suddenly exclaims. She stands up, throwing her seat backwards in the process, and slams her palms onto the heavy wooden desk. "Sir, I need a new partner!"

The middle-aged man seems unaffected by her outburst. "Why, Miki?"

"He just keeps spacing out! He won't do any work!"

"Actually sir," a deeper female voice adds as its owner stands, "I would like to request a change of partner as well."

"You too, Ayano?" he asks with a sigh.

"He flat-out refuses to help me, despite the fact that it is _our_ project, and just - he's just _reading_."

He waves them off. "Okay, okay... It sounds like these two lazy kids are perfect for each other. How about you just swap partners? Shion is more than capable of being the transfer student's guide."

"Hn," Miki grunts and strides across the classroom towards the taller girl. She hovers over Nezumi's seat until he hauls himself up with a sigh. Miki immediately takes his seat and the other girl sits back down without another glance at the dark-haired man.

Nezumi glances at Shion with resignation. Shion looks apologetic.

"Hey there, clumsy kid." Nezumi drops into the recently vacated seat.

Shion huffs at the nickname. "I'm not a kid."

"But you _are_ clumsy. Don't think I didn't see how you gracelessly stumbled your way in here five minutes late."

Shion scowls. "Like I said, not my fault."

Nezumi hums in consideration, resting his chin in a pale palm. "That's why you wear those sunglasses, right?"

"They're not sunglasses... They're corrective lenses, tinted darker because my eyes are over-sensitive to light due to the lack of pigment in my irises, which means light can enter through them when really it's only supposed to enter through the pupil and ironically their main function in a healthy eye is to contract to _decrease _the amount of light that..." Shion pauses at the plain expression on his partner's face. "Sorry. Bad habit of talking too much," he laughs slightly.

"No, please continue."

Shion narrows his eyes. "Is that sarcastic?"

Nezumi turns to face him, brushing a few stray dark hairs out of his face with a slender hand. "I'm not usually a fan of technical science, but I'm genuinely interested." The twist of his lips resembles more of a smile than his previous smirks did, but Shion still isn't totally convinced.

Nezumi doesn't _sound _like he's mocking Shion... But then again, he _is_ talking about a Drama major. Who knows what Nezumi is really thinking?

A deep chuckle rumbles in the taller man's throat. "Stop looking at me like you think I just murdered your cat."

Shion is a little taken aback. "I wasn't looking at you like that," he mutters uncertainly. _Was I?_

"Just how corrective are the lenses?" Nezumi asks suddenly, as if determined to keep the subject on topic. "They must be pretty strong."

Shion purses his lips. The expression on Nezumi's face is unreadable, and there are no hints in his tone of voice either. _A good actor. _"Want to try them?" Shion offers.

There is an affirmative noise, but before Shion can reach up to grasp the thin steel arm, the glasses are off; he assumes Nezumi has taken them, but he can't see well enough to tell because of the glare of the artificial lighting.

"Wow," he hears Nezumi murmur in a distinctly uncomfortable tone. The blurry black smudge of Nezumi's hair is moving around, and so are his black-clad arms. "I'm almost impressed, Shion. I actually can't see through these."

Shion gives an embarrassed sort of chuckle. "Yeah, they're pretty strong. But even with those, my vision is still worse than average."

"Jesus. No wonder you're always tripping over things." Nezumi's face turns towards him, the dark spectacles masking his eyes. "Can you see me?"

"No, my vision is completely black," Shion deadpans. "Of course I can see you. Just not very well. I can distinguish between your skin, hair and clothes - and between general shapes that I assume are your facial features - and I can tell you're still wearing the glasses-"

"I am."

"-but that's about it."

"Hm."

Shion's vision is suddenly restored, and he is greeted by an intense stare from a pair of seemingly luminous grey eyes. "What about now?"

"Uh..." Shion hesitates, suddenly unsure of what to say. "Your face. And you're staring at me weirdly."

Nezumi blinks, then huffs with a smirk, leaning back in his chair. Shion's head turns as he follows the movement. "I wasn't."

"You were."

Nezumi _tsks_.

There's a brief lull in conversation, during which Nezumi turns the yellowed pages of his book three times. Shion is too busy gazing out of the window to consider asking him what he's reading.

"Hey, Shion," Nezumi says out of the blue, not lifting his gaze from the battered pages.

Shion raises an eyebrow. "What?"

"Shouldn't you be working on our project?"

Lavender eyes narrow. "Shouldn't _you_?"

Nezumi glances up at that. "I'm the transfer student, you're my guide. You're supposed to lead me through the task, remember?"

"Nezumi! That's so..." Shion fumbles for the right word. After a moment of fruitless searching, he scowls. "You're so stupid."

The taller man's smirk seems to be growing. "Ah, so not only clumsy on your feet, but also with your tongue?"

"Shut up!" Shion swats at the man with annoyance, but the only response he receives is laughter.

* * *

"Shion! Hey, Shion!"

Said man turns at the familiar voice. The corridor is bustling with hungry students eager to reach the front of the lunch queue, but Safu's voice somehow reaches Shion's ears easily.

The short woman strides up to him, defiantly pushing her way through the crowd. "Shion," she repeats.

"Safu, I was looking for you," Shion replies with a smile.

Safu isn't smiling. "You ditched me yesterday."

"Sorry about that," Shion says with a sigh. "I was avoiding people because everyone kept bothering me about Nezumi."

Safu holds Shion's arm in a loose grip as she guides him through the masses of students towards the cafeteria. "I heard about that. But why were they bothering _you_? It isn't as if you know him." She glances up at her best friend. "Right?"

"Yeah, I guess," Shion agrees after a moment. "I mean, we bumped into each other and talked a bit before class, but I don't know him any more than you do."

The pair march down the busy corridor into the cafeteria and collect their lunch in amiable silence.

Safu is the first to break it. "... Are you sure?" The words are spoken quietly, as if the woman is somehow afraid of the answer.

Violet eyes glance at her reserved tone - so unusual for Safu - in surprise and concern. Unfortunately her expression is hidden from him due to his position behind her in the queue. _Does it bother her that much? _Shion thinks. _I suppose she's just not used to me interacting with other human beings. She's my only friend, after all._ "Yeah, I'm sure." Shion chuckles slightly. "He's quite intimidating, to be honest. I feel safer with you."

"Well, obviously," Safu confirms, her usual conviction returned. "I'm your best friend, and he's a criminal."

Shion laughs as he collects his lunch and finds an empty table. "He does give that impression."

The short girl slides into the adjacent seat beside him, and the mere expression on her face is enough to quell the laughter. "No, I mean it, Shion. That guy's an ex-con."

Shion's jaw goes slack. "But..."

"That's why I'm worried about your interactions with him." She points her fork at him in emphasis.

"Still-" Shion stops. He isn't sure how to take this information. Nezumi has been perfectly nice to him - well, perhaps a little teasing, but nothing more than any other cynical teenager. "What for?"

"Hm?"

Shion places his cutlery down. He suddenly isn't so hungry anymore. "What was he in prison for?"

"Does it matter?" Safu asks, a slight sneer marring her attractive face. "He was _in prison_. And prison's a tough place. You've got to have a heart of steel to survive there - hell, he could have _killed_ someone, Shion. That man is dangerous."

"If he'd committed a murder," Shion says slowly, after a short silence, "he wouldn't have been released so soon."

Safu doesn't reply.

* * *

Nezumi tears the bread in half absentmindedly. One half is lifted to his mouth, and he chews it mechanically. It tastes bland. Everything is bland; the bread, the apple, the view of the city over the railings, the icy breeze that bites at his cheeks...

He realises he isn't particularly hungry and parts his lips to breathe out a wisp of a sigh - but quickly stops himself.

Grey eyes slowly shut.

* * *

Shion chews on his pen idly. His class is currently supposed to be listening to a lecture on the nature of various literary devices, but Shion finds that he simply can't concentrate. His mind is bubbling with questions.

_Why did he lie?_

Nezumi told him that he'd just got kicked out of school: a fearsome, but ordinary, occurence, whereas in reality he spent his high school years in prison.

A thought occurs to Shion. _How does he keep up with classes?_ Shion's lips pull down in a frown. _He must've missed at least a year of curriculum. Does he do catch-up work? _

_Or maybe he's just really intelligent. This _is _an elite academy, after all._

The rest of the lesson shoots past and before he knows it, one of his rare classes with Nezumi has arrived. They don't sit beside each other, but they're close enough to converse if they want.

"Hey Shion," the taller man asks, turning in his seat.

Shion glances up from his textbook after a moment of hesitation. He isn't sure what he feels towards Nezumi at the moment - why did he lie? If he lied about his background, he could have lied about anything. Even his name. "Uh," he murmurs, "yeah?"

A dark eyebrow rises at his uncomfortable expression, but no comment is made. "Have you done any more work on the World History project?"

"Shion and the transfer student! Stop talking or I'll send you out!"

Shion spares the irritable teacher a glance before shaking his head at Nezumi and refocusing his attention on the classwork. He isn't sure what to say at the moment, now burdened with the secret of Nezumi's criminal past. _I need to get my mind sorted out._

"... Oh. Okay." Nezumi turns back around with a subtle hint of something strange in his expression. As soon as he's facing forward again, Shion mouths_ pissing hell of piss what the hell are you doing for god's sake you stupid dumb crapass _and Safu is prompted to ask if he's okay.

"I'm fine, I just... can't get a hang of this poem, that's all."

Safu smiles at him. "You can come round my house at the weekend and I can help you, if you like. We need to memorise the analysis for the exam next week."

"Okay," Shion agrees, grinning back at her. He could do with some relaxation time.

"Shion! Safu!" The teacher is glaring at them furiously. "_Out!_"


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm sorry it took a while, ahaha. As a reward have a long chapter~ **

**I have an update schedule now because I really want to finish this fic before my exams start in May. (Have I already said that?) So my updates should be (relatively) frequent and/or regular.**

**Disclaimer.**

* * *

_**Love All, Trust A Few, Do Wrong To None**_

* * *

Shion sighs deeply as he gazes out of the glass, his lavender eyes staring unfocused into the middle distance. His attention span over the last two weeks has been shortening something terrible. Shion has always been able to acutely focus his mind, to pinpoint his concentration onto a sharp object of his choice, be it a lesson, a textbook or a recreational activity.

However, recently the young man has found himself far from calm and composed. He's been forgetful, scatterbrained and even irritable, traits which last month would have been totally incompatible with the cool entity that is Shion.

He reluctantly tears his gaze from the glass in an attempt to pay a mite of attentoon to the lesson. However, it's a token effort, as merely thirty seconds later, Shion is once again lost in his own foggy thoughts.

_I wonder if Nezumi's as bored as I am... _Shion sighs. _Then again, it's unlikely. He takes subjects like Drama and English Literature. I imagine they're rarely boring, if you're interested in that kind of stuff. What else did Safu mention he studies...? _ Shion chews his lip. She mentioned it a couple of weeks ago, before he and Nezumi had even met. _That seems like such a long time ago, a time without Nezumi... _A flush crawls up Shion's neck and he lowers his head with embarrassment. _Did I really just think that? _

Shion blinks suddenly, his brow furrowed in confusion and surprise. _Nezumi? Why him? Why am I thinking about Nezumi now?_

_Come to think of it... _He narrows his eyes. _I've been thinking about Nezumi a lot lately._

He exhales. _I can't stop thinking about him recently. It's like he just keeps appearing in my mind without my consent, even when he's not at all related to the subject at hand, and he stops me thinking about what I need to be thinking about. I can't think, or work, or concentrate half as well as I used to. And why Nezumi? Why is it _Nezumi _who's distracting me like this, rather than Safu, or Mama, or the pot plant I bought at the weekend?_

_Being so confused and not knowing anything; not being able to find the answers to what should be a logical equation..._

_It's frustrating._

* * *

"What do you mean we 'need to build our teamwork skills'?"

The teacher rolls her eyes. "Well you lot might be the top geniuses in the city, but you're hardly what I'd call friendly. In the big, wide world, it's important to have basic people skills if you want to excel in all those high-flying jobs you guys are bound to have."

There is a round of annoyed muttering, but it doesn't take long for their teacher to quiet them down this time. _It appears they do have some sense in them after all, _she muses to herself. "So - as I was saying before I was rudely interrupted - none of you will follow normal timetable today, 'cause instead you'll be taking part in some skill-building exercises. Are you all okay with that? Yeah? Good, right, let's go."

Shion and his classmates traipse reluctantly down to the ground floor, where the main hall is located. The hall takes up half the floor, enough to fit a thousand people in assembly, and with only the one class and its teacher in attendance, it seems eerily empty. Shion wraps his viridian cardigan tighter around his skinny figure.

"Right," the teacher announces after herding her students into a small enough space to hear her. "The whole point of these exercises today is to increase skills of cooperation, teamwork and trust, as well as the ability to make sensible decisions and delegate tasks between yourselves. So, for that reason,_ I _will be selecting your groups."

The class doesn't bother to restrain their collective immature groan at the prospect.

She proceeds to roughly sort her students like sheep into seven groups of four - with one remaining. "Ah, transfer student. Where shall I put you..." The teacher smirks. "There, with Miki's group." She gives him a small push on the shoulder and ignores the icy glare he shoots her as he stalks away.

"First activity: raft-building!"

"But miss," one student pipes up, "What's the point? There's no water."

She grimaces at him with frustration, running a hand across her cheek and placing the other firmly on her hip. "Well spotted, there's no water in the hall. But there _is_ water in the lake bordering the school grounds. You'll assemble your rafts here, simply because sheep are easier to manage in an enclosed space, and then we'll carry the rafts over to the lake and test them out. The raft that can travel the furthest without sinking or capsizing will win the prize."

"What's the prize?"

She grins maliciously. "A no-homework ticket, valid for an entire week."

The students scramble into action.

* * *

"Hey, why are you here? Aren't you with Miki?"

Nezumi stares blankly at the shorter student as if he's having difficulty comprehending the stupidity of his words. After a brief moment he appears to deem them unworthy of a reply and turns away.

"Don't ignore me!"

"I'd like to know too," Safu murmurs through the thick mist of suspicion she's emanating. Hazel eyes narrow at the tall man as she approaches him. "Why _are_ you here? You're not in this group."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Nezumi replies airily, raising a slender eyebrow at her. "The teacher told me to join Shion's group." He smirks, but the twist of his lips is entirely cold. "Perhaps you misheard? 'Shion' and 'Miki' do share a common vowel sound, after all..."

Safu grits her teeth. However infuriating this transfer student might be, it's best not to start an argument, which would most definitely land her in detention as the teachers would clearly sympathise with Nezumi since he's new. And really, the last thing Safu needs in the middle of her revision for finals in a few months is a detention to mar her shining record.

Her nose wrinkles in distaste, and she turns on her heel as Shion calls for her. She strides away without another word.

"Here, Safu," Shion says as she approaches him. "Help me with the logs."

Their team flies into action, spurred on by the promise of a homework-free week, and even Nezumi lends a hand or two.

"Uh, Shion?" Safu nudges him in the side with the roll of masking tape she's currently fixing the sail with.

Shion starts. "What?" he says, slightly disorientated after being startled out of his daze.

"Concentrate on the task at hand, not on..." Safu follows Shion's line of vision and raises an eyebrow. "Not on _Nezumi's _hands."

Shion flinches at the harsh sound of metal pole hitting floor. He glances down and realises it was he who had dropped it. Safu's expression tells him everything he needs to know about what he'd been staring absent-mindedly at. "I wasn't - I mean, I was just..." he trails off, somewhat flustered. "I was thinking, that's all."

He blinks at the masking tape in her hand. "Masking tape?" He looks confused. "Why are you using _masking tape_?"

When she speaks, Safu's voice is slow and quiet, and her eyes flit between Shion and the offending tape she's holding. "... I thought I was supposed to use masking tape."

Shion groans.

* * *

Safu hefts a corner of the heavy raft onto her shoulder. "Keiichi, you get the front," she gets out between gasps. "Shion and Nezumi get the other side and Ruka get the back. Hurry, my shoulder's about to be dislocated!"

The team hurriedly grab the sides of the makeshift raft and Ruka proceeds to bark out directional orders so that they could fit through the back door of the hall.

Shion feels a little uncomfortable walking directly in front of Nezumi, and feels eyes on the back of his neck. He resists the urge to run and hide.

It doesn't take long for the group to reach the near edge of the field where the small lake is located - what takes the most time, in fact, is trying to place the raft upright on the lake without it capsizing.

"Damn," Shion mutters. "Shouldn't have made the sail so tall. Raises the centre of mass."

"Nothing we can do about it now," Nezumi says from beside him. "I suppose we'll be having to deal with homework for the next week."

Shion turns to him. "You're quite the pessimist. We haven't lost yet."

"You're right." There's a short pause, and then Nezumi raises his hand to point past Shion to the lake. "_Now _we have."

Shion whips around. "No way," he sighs with disappointment. "I spent so long adjusting that sail."

"What did I tell you? Life's unfair, Shion."

Lavender eyes watch the winning team as they celebrate from the centre of the lake. "Yeah, yeah."

* * *

"Quick! Shion - Shion where's the box? Where's the square box, I need -" He's cut off as a large cardboard cube hits him in the chest.

"Here," Shion warns his teammate belatedly.

Safu sighs irritably. "This is a stupid exercise. What skills, exactly, are 'building a tower very fast' honing?"

"Shut up and help," Ruka snaps. "I'm not losing this round too."

Shion heaves a wobbly stack of six boxes into the tall brown cylinder. "I've got the rest."

"Is this it then?" his teammate asks, also carrying a n armful of large boxes. "We can fill in the gap?"

Ruka nods, golden hair swishing with his movement as he smoothly hoists the last ten boxes into his grasp and piles them up behind Shion, effectively blocking the five high-schoolers in.

Safu glances around, idly readjusting boxes to calm her nerves. "That was unnecessarily stressful."

"Yeah," Shion agrees with a sigh. "And now we're all boxed in."

Nezumi pulls a face of shocked disgust at the shorter man. "... That was a horrible joke."

"Even worse because you said it with this blank look on your face. What are you, a robot?"

Shion blinks at Ruka. "Sorry." He grins sheepishly.

"His sense of humour is worse than mine," Safu mutters. She turns to face the rest of her group and is about to expand on her comment when their tea cher's voice cuts her off.

"Okay everyone," she booms. "I've had a look at everyone's and I've decided that..."she pauses, before adding impatiently, "drum roll please, everyone."

A deep hollow rumble promptly echoes around the large hall as the students drum their hands against the boxes surrounding them.

"... _Mina's _group wins!"

Ruka and Safu - along with most of the other occupants of the room - erupt into a barrage of complaints mostly aimed at the teacher's decision methods, but the thick-skinned woman doggedly ignores them and swiftly gathers up her students.

She claps sharply. "Alright everyone - you're ten minutes early, but you may as well go to lunch. There are a few things we still have to do after - what? No, just leave the boxes as they are. Someone else will clear them up. Just piss off to lunchbreak already, you're all annoying me."

* * *

"What good did that do?" Safu complains as she works her way through a large serving of school dinner. "I learned nothing from those tasks. My time would've been much better spent in normal lessons."

Shion smiles slightly at her antics. "I quite enjoyed it, actually."

"You're so strange, Shion." Safu sighs. "How can you find manual labour fun? Mental labour is far more rewarding."

Shion lifts his fork to his mouth, though the massively overpriced and underwhelming spaghetti is difficult to force down. "If you say so, Safu."

"I do say so." She sighs in contentment, placing her cutlery neatly down on her clean plate. "Right, lunch break is nearly over. Should we head down there now? It's good to be early."

"Wait, wait!" Shion calls in panic as she stands up and moves to leave. He shovels three more forkfuls into his mouth and stumbles after her as he swallows it down.

She eyes his half-empty plate. "You should finish that. There's no meat on your bones as it is," she scolds him.

Shion frowns and huffs indignantly. "I don't have a big appetite. And besides, school lunch is hardly appealing."

"You got that right." Safu pulls a face, and Shion laughs.

They dump their trays on the rack and head across the building to the main hall. They wander slowly, taking a detour to pick up a textbook Shion left in his Chemistry lab yesterday, and consequently, by the time they arrive at their destination, lunch break is over.

"So much for bein early," Safu sighs. "Did you really have to pick up that textbook _now_? We're practically the last ones here."

Shion opens his mouth to protest, but before he can get the defensive words off his tongue, the teacher cuts him off.

"Hey, Safu!" she calls, and waves her over.

"What?"

"Ryo and Ayano aren't here. They're probably in the middle of a lunchtime date and god _forbid_ I disturb them, so could you find them and drag their asses over here? I know you have a reputation for being strict and intimidating."

Safu blinks, and it's obvious she hadn't realised. "Okay." She nods curtly before heading out of the door with determination.

"Miss, you're just lazy," one student calls out.

"Shut your trap," she barks at him. "And get rid of that pastry. You're not allowed to eat in here."

Shion watches her go, and suddenly finds himself feeling rather out of place. He sighs, mildly irritated with himself for replying so much on his best friend. _It feels just like when I first came here. It's as if I haven't learned anything at all since I was fifteen._

The white-haired man is standing only a few feet away from his teacher, and so he hears her clearly when she mutters irritably, "For fuck's sake, I don't have time for this."

Shion isn't sure what she's referring to, but the genuine pain in the lines on her face and her hunched position ignites surprise within him. Now that he thinks about it, she's never showed anything more than annoyance in front of her students before. Shion finds himself curious about her background and what she could be so impatient about, but decides it's best not to ask in case it's personal - which, by the looks of things, it probably is.

"Right, everyone," she suddenly announces, her previous vigour restored. "We may as well start the last couple of tasks now. Safu and friends are more than intelligent enough to skip the explanation.

"The exercises you did before lunch were completed in large groups, but these ones you'll complete now will be in pairs, as I imagine there will be plenty of times you'll have to work with a partner in your lives."

"You 'imagine'?" one student mutters, though it apparently goes ignored.

"There's an odd number of students so one of you will have to work with me." She smirks. "So I advise you to choose your partners quickly."

Everone in the class hurries into action - well, everyone except Shion.

_Dammit, Safu isn't - _He glances at the teacher. Working with her might be a chance to ask her about what she was previously muttering about, but Shion gets the feeling she wouldn't respond well to that sort of question from someone like him. He chews his lip. The rest of the class are quickly finding a parntner, but Shion's only friend is Safu, who still hasn't returned, and he doubts any of his classmates would willingly pair up with him over their own friends.

He resigns himself to his fate. _ I suppose I'll just volunteer and save everyone else the panic... _He takes a step towards her, but a strong hand grips his shoulder.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Shion inhales quickly in surprise at the voice, and the sudden rush of oxygen makes him lightheaded. He stumbles, but another hand holds his arm and he manages not to fall and embarrass himself. "You -" He looks up, slightly stunned, and readjusts his glasses. "Oh."

"'_Oh_'?" Nezumi mocks irritably. "Am I not good enough for you or something?"

"What? No! That's n-not -" Shion stutters. "I mean, I'm just surprised."

A dark eyebrow rises, and Nezumi tucks his pale hands back into his pockets. "Why? Have you been 'surprised' all week? Is that why you've been acting weirdly?"

Shion blinks, and his jaw goes slack. "No, I -" _Shit. I can't tell him it's because he hurt my feelings, for god's sake. Shion, you idiot._ "You... It's nothing," he finishes, somewhat pathetically.

Nezumi's glare is harsh. "If you're not going to tell me and hide behind 'it's nothing', then at least _act _like it's nothing."

The heat is creeping up Shion's neck and across his cheeks. He's sure Nezumi can see it. "Okay."

Nezumi _hmphs_, and appears to calm down - at least, outwardly. Shion remains completely in the dark about Nezumi's innermost thoughts and feelings.

Shion almost turns to apologise, but then remembers why he's angry at Nezumi in the first place. He keeps his mouth shut.

"Why were you surprised?" Nezumi mutters.

Violet eyes glance up, but Nezumi is staring directly ahead and avoiding eye contact.

"Just," Shion starts cautiously, "you've been at this school for a couple of weeks now, and I thought you... I don't know, you just seem like someone who can make a lot of friends easily, and I don't know why you... partnered with me. Especially after..." _Especially after my behaviour recently._

Nezumi pulls a mocking face at him, but his quiet snort of a laugh feels genuine. "You obviously have the wrong impression of me." His voice loses the sneering tone. "And you really ought to work on those self-esteem issues of yours."

"I don't -" Shion attempts to argue the contrary - on both topics - but at that moment, the hall door bursts open, revealing a rather angry Safu and two embarrassed students, who Shion assumes are Ryo and Ayano.

"Ah, you're back," the teacher greets. "Safu, you can work with Ryo; Ayano, you'll be with me. No, before you say it, I'm not letting you two group together. I'm sure _your_ teamwork skills are perfectly honed."

The class sniggers slightly

"Right, is everyone in pairs? The first task then. How easy it is really depends on your personality, so I won't put you in detention if you fail this one."

Shion glances nervously at his partner, who in contrast seems entirely relaxed.

"It's the classic trust exercise; you know, the one where you fall backwards and the other person catches you. Trust is an important part of working in a group. You have to learn to spilt up tasks among yourselves and the trust the other members of the group to complete their tasks on time and to an appropriate standard. You can't get anywhere if you can't simply trust each other."

_That's not too bad, _Shion thinks, though he's still more than a little uncertain. Even just_ being around_ Nezumi is stressful, let alone _working_ with him._ Plus after just finding out about his criminal record - which, not to mention he _didn't tell me about._.. Do I really trust him?_

"You want to fall first?" Nezumi really does appear remarkably relaxed, and there's even a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. Shion can't help but wonder if Nezumi's somehow enjoying this, despite seeing how clearly uncomfortable Shion is.

_Perhaps that's exactly the reason why he's enjoying it. Sadistic. _Shion shakes off the angry thought.

"Okay," the shorter man agrees hesitantly, though he's not too sure he'll be able to fall without catching himself. The amount Shion knows about Nezumi is infinitely tiny (and it turns out, even smaller than he'd originally thought) and despite Shion's current opinion that Nezumi is a good person, he's so elusive and mysterious that Shion can't help but doubt whether he's a good judge of character.

Again, just like when they carried the raft, standing with his back to Nezumi makes him intensely anxious. _Actually_, Shion belatedly realises, _many things make me anxious when they involve Nezumi._

"Three, two, one..."

Shion shuts his eyes tightly, draws in a breath, and falls.

He can't help squeaking in shock when his back is met not by cold floor but by warm chest, and his arms are held easily in that unexpectedly strong grip.

He opens his eyes and pants out a quick breath.

"Had you worried for a second there, did I?" Nezumi's voice is close to Shion's ear, and has more than a tinge of hidden laughter laced among its tones.

Shion somehow pushes himself up so he's supporting his own weight. His brow furrows with annoyance. "I just didn't want to fall, that's all."

"Whatever you say," Nezumi responds, though he sounds nothing close to convinced.

"It's your turn," Shion half-snaps, and folds his arms.

"Hm," Nezumi hums thoughtfully, "Maybe I shouldn't have wound you up just before I put my dignity in your hands."

Shion attempts to suppress a grin, but he fails miserably, and his facade of anger is shattered. He unfolds his arms and gestures for Nezumi to stand in front of him.

Nezumi follows Shion's lead, and begins the countdown, which Shion had forgotten in his moment of panic. "Three, two -"

"Wait!" Shion suddenly cuts Nezumi off in a panic. "What if I can't catch you? I'm not that strong -"

"Shut up," Nezumi sighs, glancing behind him. "I'm not _that_ heavy, Jesus."

"But -"

But before Shion can finish his protest, Nezumi is falling towards him. Shion opens his mouth in a soundless shriek of shock and reaches out.

His arms loop perfectly under Nezumi's, and his balance is hardly disrupted at all.

"There!"

Shion glances wildly to his side, his nerves still frayed from Nezumi's unexpected fall. "What -"

Their teacher is pointing at them. "You two, Shion and Transfer! That was perfect! Transfer, fall again so the class can see what's supposed to happen. It seems hardly anyone can complete even a simple task like this."

Nezumi is standing upright now, and Shion is frozen with arms still extended. The class is quiet. Shion catches Safu's eye. Her expression is... calculating.

The taller man sighs and turns back around, and Shion snaps out of his daydream. He can feel the pressure of his classmates' eyes on him, but he pinpoints his concentration on the dark haired man in front of him, who is so at ease he hasn't even bothered to take his hands out of his pockets.

_But if I miss, he won't be able to catch himself in time..._ Shion stops.

_He trusts me._

"Oof," Shion grunts as Nezumi's weight hits him. He blinks; Nezumi must've fallen, because he's currently _relaxing_ against him, held up by Shion's support.

"Perfect!" The teacher laughs. "It's like you two are on the same psychic wavelength or something. You didn't even do a countdown."

Shion almost falls forward when the warm weight on his chest is suddenly removed. He didn't realise he subconsciously adjusted to Nezumi's weight.

_Nezumi was right,_ Shion muses._ He's not very heavy._

The class have returned to the exercise and there's now a bubble of raucous noise filling the large hall.

"You should eat more," Nezumi comments, out of the blue, from beside him.

Shion looks at him, unsure what to feel. _Is he concerned about my health or insulting me?_

"You were too easy to catch. You barely weigh more than my sister, and she's tiny."

The older man initially opens his mouth with the intention of arguing that he eats fine, _thank you very much_, but somewhere between his brain and his mouth the words get jumbled up and it comes out as, "You have a sister?"

Nezumi looks down at him with an unreadable expression. "Yeah. What of it?"

"Oh, nothing," Shion replies. "I just... didn't know."

"Does it matter?"

Shion stares at the taller man for a moment, but he gets the distinct feeling that even if he stared into those stormy grey eyes for eternity, he would never be able to decipher his thoughts. "... No, not really." A small smile graces his lips as a thought occurs to him. "You know, Nezumi, I'm not surprised you're a Drama major."

Said man raises his eyebrow. "Oh yeah?"

"Mm, you must be a good performer. The way you fell earlier was very elegant."

"The way I _fell_?" Nezumi shoots him a look of incredulity. "It wasn't. You're insane."

Shion frowns. "It was, you don't ha -"

"And we have another winner! Congratulations, Safu, Ryo. That was almost as exceptional as Shion and Transfer."

Safu, having now gotten the tedious task out of the way, gets right down to business. She strides over to Nezumi and fixes him with a fiery glare.

Shion blinks at her. _Why is she being so hostile? _"Safu -"

"What_ is_ it about you?"

Shion blinks, and looks between Safu and Nezumi, who seem to be taking part in some silent glaring battle.

"You're suspicious," Safu continues. "You don't seem the trusting type at all. So why did you trust Shion like that? I don't believe it. I know you're hiding something."

"Oh really?" Nezumi challenges, his calm demeanor not fooling anyone.

"Yes," Safu states. "And I'm going to find out what it is. You can trust me on that one."

Shion wants - _needs_ - to interfere, but his sensibility advises him not to as for some reason he feels like the combined scariness of Safu and Nezumi is worse than the face of hell itself.


	4. Chapter 4

**I'm really sorry for the late update! But I fainted at school, then I got ill, then it was my birthday, then I had to finish a studio piece for Art class, then I watched A:TLA twice... It's been pretty hectic. And I'm afraid next week is my mega-revision week for my exams, and then for the next couple of months it's major exam time, so until July the updates will be kinda slow. But bear with me! I will persevere and try my very best to deliver chapters to you on time!**

**Disclaimer!**

* * *

_**Love All, Trust A Few, Do Wrong To None**_

* * *

Shion purses his lips. "Hm..." Violet eyes narrow threateningly as the corners of his mouth turn down. "No," he mumbles. "I don't _believe_ you."

"What did that broccoli ever do to you?"

Shion starts, and the fork tumbles out of his hand, crashing back onto his plate with a splash of gravy. "Safu, what did I say about sneaking up on me like that?"

His best friend slides into the seat beside him with a smirk. "Sorry. You just looked so silly I couldn't help myself."

"Thanks," Shion grumbles, his tone dripping with sarcasm.

"What did you mean?" she asks suddenly as she tucks into her lunch. "When you said 'I don't believe you', that is."

Shion's words lodge in his throat and his mouth is left hanging open as his brain tries to process the question. What _did_ he mean? He hadn't even been aware that he was speaking out loud. "Uh, I don't..." He mentally berates himself for being so cowardly, and huffs at his childish behaviour. _Nothing will ever be solved if you're too afraid to take action._

"You don't what?" Safu pushes. Her eyes are once again gleaming with that calculating look, as if she's trying to psychoanalyse him on the spot.

"I don't believe you," Shion repeats, the words stumbling awkwardly out of his mouth. The only difference is that this time the words are not aimed at his inanimate vegetables. They're aimed at Safu.

She narrows her eyes. "Are you addressing me now?"

Shion turns to her and forces himself to make eye contact. Safu is a confident and direct sort of person; she dismisses your arguments entirely if you are too timid in making them. "Yes."

"What don't you believe me about? I don't lie, you know that." She doesn't sound offended in the slightest, only curious.

"When you said that Nezumi is an... an ex-con. It doesn't seem right."

Deep brown eyes blink once. "Oh, so that's what this is about." She turns from him to face the window in front of her. "I see now."

Shion is confused by her reaction, but he doesn't let himself become sidetracked. "Is it true? Do you have proof?"

"Of course I have proof," she sighs indignantly. "I don't start rumours. I state facts."

"Then what is your proof? How can you be totally sure that he was in prison?"

Safu casts a cursory glance around the room before speaking in a low voice. "I hacked into the government records."

Shion spits out his coffee. "Safu!" he exclaims loudly. "You can't do that!"

"Keep your voice down!" she hisses at him, and Shion quickly remembers where they are.

"But why?" he whispers. "And what if you're found out? There could be serious consequences!"

Safu shrugs, as if she hadn't just broken a few major laws. "He seemed like a suspicious character, and I trust my instincts. It turns out I had - and still have - a good reason to be concerned, especially since you two seem to be becoming fast friends." She smirks. "And don't worry about the consequences; I made sure to cover my tracks. And yes, I'm well aware of the irony of getting arrested while checking to see if someone else was arrested."

The man's jaw is slack, and the calm stream of words had stopped entering his brain a while ago. He's in shock. Shion simply can't believe it; Safu hacked into the_ official government record_ to check up on someone - _without their permission_ - just because she had a _hunch_?

He stands, his palms coming into contact with the table a little harder than perhaps was necessary. He picks up the remainders of his lunch silently, not trusting himself to speak civilly to his best friend at that moment. _I know it's illogical, _he thinks as he dumps the tray noisily on the rack, _but for some reason the fact that Safu did that just really pisses me off._

"Shion?" she calls after him as he makes to leave. "Shion, what's wrong with you?"

He grits his teeth, wincing at the ugly sound as his molars grind together. His arms are trembling now from anger, and the thought of _this is illogical_ has long since fled his mind.

Safu approaches him with an air of annoyance, blissfully unaware of her best friend's current mental state. "Seriously, Shion, I know you don't like breaking rules, but this is a bit of an overreaction, isn't it? I mean, it's not even like you two are particularly -"

"Shut up."

Safu balks, and immediately takes on a defensive stance, sensing the danger.

"What would you know?" Shion spits venemously, and Safu can see the fiery heat of his glare even through his glasses. "You don't have secrets, Safu. You don't care if people find out personal information about you; it doesn't _bother_ you. But sometimes you're so caught up in your own little perfect Safu-world that you forget about other people!"

With the sudden absence of Shion's raised voice, Safu notices the silence in the hall around them.

Shion is practically baring his teeth at her, and his voice has taken on an uncharacteristically rough tone. "That was an _invasion of Nezumi's privacy. _There was a _reason_ he hid it from everyone, Safu - everyone, you, me, maybe even the teachers - and you just take it into your own hands and decide that his cares and personal decisions about his_ own personal life_ don't matter, as if - as if you think you're _better_ than him or something!" he snarls, reminding Safu of an aggravated animal.

"Shion, I didn't -"

"_I don't care!_"

Safu winces at the feral snarl.

Shion feels a deep rumble of a growl in his throat as he pulls his arm back, and swings forward -

- and stops himself just short. He freezes for a moment, fist extended towards her face as she stands before him, unflinching but obviously scared.

Shion panics, forgets to breathe and quickly flees from the hall.

* * *

A small sigh escapes her lips for the nth time that afternoon. Safu had not been ready for lessons after her argument with Shion, and to be honest she is still a little unsettled even now, an hour later.

Safu has seen Shion express many different emotions under many different circumstances. She has seen him laugh to the point of tears and she's seen him cry his eyes out in pain until he threw up. She's seen him run, terrified, from his bullies, and she has seen him beat his bullies up.

Not once had she ever expected one of those punches to be aimed at _her_.

She sighs again, and curls further into herself as protection against the chilly wind. She doesn't know why she came up to the roof; she doesn't like it here. This is _Shion's_ spot.

_Dammit_, she thinks irritably. _What has that Nezumi guy been doing to him to make him snap like that?_

She stands and brushes the dirt off her skirt resolutely. If she doesn't know the answer to a question, what does she do? Wait around for the answer to mysteriously appear before her, or seek out someone who knows?

* * *

"Oi, Nezumi."

The dark figure pauses, but doesn't turn. After a moment, he says, "It's not like you to skip class." His words are teasing, but his voice is cold.

Safu sneers at his back. This guy is _really_ beginning to annoy her. She stands her ground in the empty corridor. "Shion."

Nezumi turns, as if she'd called his own name. "What about him?" he says dismissively, though appears a little more alert when she begins striding up to him until she has him backed up against the wall.

"What's going on with you two?" She asks, her voice reasonably calm considering she's pinning the most dangerous man in the school against a wall.

Thin lips turn up into a cutting smirk. Nezumi draws himself up a little higher, emphasising the intimidating height difference. "Why? Are you jealous?"

Safu can't help herself, suddenly overcome with an intense desire to wipe that smug smirk right off the infuriating student's face.

Surprisingly, he doesn't duck her punch, taking it right against his cheekbone and only wincing slightly when his head slams against the wall behind him, and Safu can feel the vibrations of it through the floor.

Safu's breathing is slightly laboured as she takes a step back, as if to inspect her handiwork. She remains quiet, waiting for Nezumi's next move.

He touches his left fingertips to his injured cheek, and when he brings them down they are smeared with red. He frowns, moving the hand to rub tentatively against the point of contact on the back of his head. He spares the short woman a thoughtful glance before muttering, "You're stronger than you look."

Safu is not expecting this response. She suddenly finds herself without words.

Nezumi stares intently at her for an entire minute, the tension as thick as butter. When it becomes clear Safu isn't going to say anything, he snaps, "What? Is that it? There's no meaningful message of life that you want to convey to me through the rough but effective medium of violence?" His mocking voice reeks of sarcasm, but there is no hint of anger within it.

This only serves to confuse Safu further.

He huffs at her with condescension, and begins to saunter away, as if he's already forgotten that he's just been punched almost into a concussion.

As if as an afterthought, the black-haired man calls over his shoulder, "You might want to distance yourself from that wall before someone sees you with it."

Safu isn't quite sure what he's talking about, and for a spilt second entertains the idea that perhaps everyone in the world is just going insane - but then she glances at the aforementioned wall and chestnut eyes widen in shock.

It appears she punched Nezumi a little harder than intended, because there's a cracked circular indent in the plaster at around Nezumi's head height. Safu isn't sure whether she's glad it's a partition wall or not. On the one hand, if she'd smashed Nezumi's skull into a brick wall perhaps he would've been concussed or seriously injured; but on the other hand, she wouldn't have to explain this dent to the staff.

A difficult decision, to be sure.

* * *

Safu wanders slowly to her next class. Punching Nezumi had helped calm her quite a bit, despite the small bud of guilt blooming in her chest.

She isn't sure what to do as she waits restlessly outside the closed classroom door. Nezumi and she had parted ways at least half an hour ago, which would've given him plenty of time to inform their class teacher - or perhaps even the headmistress - about the rather one-sided fistfight between them.

Safu isn't looking forward to having to explain herself to either of the intimidating women.

A soft sound echoes down the corridor as she inhales deeply in mental preparation. She opens the door.

Making her way to her seat behind Shion, she realises more distinctly with every step that her teacher has no idea about what happened. She doesn't even earn a bored glance.

Safu chews her lip as she bores holes in the back of Shion's snowy head with her intense gaze. She ponders his reaction if she attempted to talk to him so soon after their argument.

Her need to speak about what happened wins out quickly, and she leans forward to whisper onto his shoulder, "Shion. I need to talk to you."

Shion stiffens momentarily and Safu almost thinks he'll continue to ignore her - but then he turns.

His expression is heavy with shame.

"Look, Shion... I'm sorry about what I did. I know I had no right, but I was worried about you. I just..." She pauses. Admitting she's wrong is something Safu finds immensely difficult. "I just handled the situation incorrectly."

Shion shakes his head at her, twisting further around in his seat. "No, it's not your fault. I completely overreacted, and I shouldn't have shouted at you like that. I was just irritated with myself, and I took it out on you. And I _definitely _shouldn't have tried to punch you. I'm really sorry."

Safu smiles slightly. "It's okay, Shion. Really. And besides," she adds in a quieter tone, "I'm not exactly innocent of violence today either."

A white eyebrow is raised. "What do you mean?"

She purses her lips, breaking eye contact momentarily. "I punched Nezumi."

Shion's jaw drops. "You _what_?"

"I went to talk to him after we... after our argument earlier."

Shion nods slowly in realisation. "That's why you weren't in class third period."

Safu hums an affirmative. "And I was still sort of angry, and I just... hit him. But that's not the strange part." She casts a glance to the seat in front of Shion, where Nezumi normally sits - but it's empty.

Shion is watching with a mixture of interest and secondhand pain (probably from imagining scenes of Safu beating up his new classmate), his violet eyes urging her to continue.

"The thing is, Nezumi didn't even tell anyone. I would've thought he would rat me out to a teacher. It would provide him with a lot of entertainment watching someone like me get pummelled by the headmistress."

Shion makes a sound. It has a sense of surprise and confusion which almost - but not quite - covers the tinge of amusement, which Safu decides to ignore. "Yeah, that's strange," he murmurs.

Safu sighs, closing her eyes briefly as she places her chin in her palm. "Shion. You and Nezumi... Are you... Is there something going on?"

"What do you mean?"

As far as Safu can tell, his confusion is genuine. She mentally curses him for being so dense. "I mean, Shion..." She sighs. How is she supposed to say this tactfully? "Do you... like him?"

Shion's expression morphs into one of caution. "'Like'... As in...?"

"As in _like_ like."

Shion has the grace to blush, but shakes his head. "No, he's just... a friend. An interesting friend."

"Oh. Okay," Safu responds. She considers Shion. He said he doesn't have anything more than platonic interest in the dark-haired man, but his response was hesitant and his voice unusually quiet.

Chestnut eyes narrow. _Maybe..._

* * *

"Today, class, we're going to start learning about the Cold War. Unfortunately, this class is a little behind on the topics so we're going to have to rush a bit. I expect you all to concentrate to make sure you know as much as you can for finals - yes, this topic will appear in your exam." The teacher leans further back into his chair and takes a few papers into his hands from on top of his desk. "I assume everyone has finished their projects now? I will be expecting you to hand them in to me in pairs as you leave the classroom at the end of the lesson." The older man casts a sharp glance around the room as he picks out the most nervous facial expressions. "If you _haven't _finished it... Well, depending on how much work you've done, I'll decide an appropriate punishment for you."

Shion puffs out a hopeless sigh as his mind provides him with unwanted images of the horribly tedious tasks he could be assigned with.

Needless to say, he and Nezumi haven't finished the project.

Shion sneaks a subtle glance at the younger man to his right. Nezumi appears as nonchalant as always, slumped back down into his chair in order to have the easiest view of the book he's reading under the desk. Shion notes absently that this book is one he's never seen Nezumi read before. The pages are stark white and stiff when he turns them - a contrast to Nezumi's usual yellowed, dog-eared and well-loved tomes.

"Is it new?"

Nezumi blinks once at the murmured question, then glances up to meet the lavender gaze. "What?"

"The book." Shion gestures to it. "It's new, right? You haven't read it before?"

There's a brief pause as Nezumi raises a bemused eyebrow. "... Yeah, it's new."

A small burst of warmth blooms in Shion's chest, and he can't resist the small smile. "Is it good?"

Nezumi shrugs. "Some of the characters are a bit flat, and the sex scenes are pretty unrealistic, but the plot is interesting enough, I guess." His brow furrows as he notices Shion's cheeks are stained deep crimson. "What?"

"You..." Shion clears his throat out of embarrassment. _I can't believe this guy sometimes. _"You read... that kind of stuff... in public?"

The dark-haired man appears to catch on, and is instantly smirking. "Yeah, what of it?" As the blush is joined by wide violet eyes and a look of confused shock, Nezumi chuckles quietly. "Hey, don't go all blushing virgin on me."

However, his words have the opposite effect, and if Shion wasn't beet red before, he certainly is now. "Hey, I'm not-" he starts defiantly, but quickly realises what he was about to say, and cuts himself off with an indignant huff. "I just wouldn't be able to... do that. Reading that sort of stuff when there are people around would just be extremely uncomfortable."

Nezumi frowns, as if considering it. "I suppose it can be a bit off-putting while I'm trying to hold a conversation, but..."

Shion balks, and it takes _a lot_ of effort not to ask if this is one of those conversations. He isn't quite sure that he wants to know.

Nezumi makes no attempt to continue talking, and Shion is feeling far too awkward from the recent revelation to try for small talk, so the pair fall into amiable silence for most of the lesson. The younger man smoothly flips the pages of his new book; Shion notices that his reading speed is impressively quick, judging by the frequency that the pristine pages are turned.

Shion sighs and slumps further forward into his seat as he scrawls untidy notes into his notepad. He feels oddly detached, as if his brain is absorbing the lecture and taking notes by itself, while Shion is left stranded in his vividly absorbing daydreams.

Nezumi, on the other hand, makes no move to take any notes at all.

_Oh my-_

A bolt of electricity shoots down Shion's spine. He shivers. Violet eyes struggle to resist glacing down at his leg, but somehow he manages. The shocking feeling doesn't come again for a good minute, and Shion assumes he must have imagined the sensation - but then there is another, firmer touch, and Shion is _certain_ that that is the feeling of Nezumi's knee against his thigh.

Shion shoots a sharp glance at his neighbour. Nezumi is hunched comfortably low in his seat, hands on his book under the edge of the desk and legs disappearing under it - the exact same position he was in twenty minutes ago.

_What the hell?_

Nezumi suddenly clears his throat, and Shion jumps, immediately cursing his own sensitivity and inwardly cringing._ Come on, Shion! So what if you bumped knees? That happens all the time! It's nothing to get all... _frazzled_ about!_

Because Shion definitely does feel rather frazzled. He isn't sure what's going on at the moment, or whether his desk partner has even realised what he's doing, but he knows that if Nezumi doesn't move that damn leg away soon Shion is going to scream.

Thin lips pull down as he glowers at the wall. _Well, Nezumi, two can play at that game._

He readjusts his right leg just slightly; a small enough move to seem natural but jostling enough that Nezumi visibly loses his focus on the book.

Shion is _very_ close to letting out an unmanly squeak when suddenly a warm calf is pressed flush against his own from knee to ankle. If Nezumi's actions weren't deliberate before, they most surely are now; Shion chances a glance at the dark-haired man only to find him positively _smirking_.

_I knew it!_ Shion thinks, nerves highly strung with a feeling that he can't quite explain and that makes his heart race as it flounders around in his chest in a panic. _What is he trying to do? Embarrass me in public?_

He shifts his leg again, this time far less subtly as the jig is obviously up, and moves to intertwine their ankles, pulling Nezumi slightly towards him. Each move is tentative and uncertain, and Shion prays Nezumi can't feel him trembling. _What am I doing?_

Nezumi appears a little surprised at the bold movement, blinking and coughing to conceal what was probably a noise of shock.

"Nezumi, can you read the passage on page thirty-seven to the class, please."

Both students start at the wiry sound of their World History teacher's voice, and their legs shoot apart like _bullets_.

Shion manages to catch the leg of the desk with his foot and he cringes at the loud sound, which ricochets around the expectant silence of the classroom.

"U-Um-" Nezumi stutters into motion like an old car. He clears his throat as grey eyes scour Shion's textbook. "I-I'm sorry, sir, can you, uh, repeat that? Please?" he adds quickly and pulls himself up straighter from his slouch.

Shion can't help staring at the taller man. This awkward stammer that tumbled out of his mouth - it's just so unlike Nezumi. Nezumi, the man of smooth words and sharp, witty comments. Nezumi, the man with a snake's tongue. Nezumi, fumbling over his words in class?

_No_, Shion thinks,_ it just doesn't fit_.

* * *

"Nezumi!" Shion calls as a sea of students rushes to leave the stuffy classroom.

Nezumi pauses a little way down the corridor and turns to wait rather impatiently as Shion struggles to push through the chaotic crowd.

_It's okay_, Shion reassures himself. _Just act like the leg-touching thing was totally normal. Or, even better, that it didn't happen at all. Yeah. Nothing happened, you're just going to ask a friend if they're okay, because you're worried. That's it._

"Nezumi," he repeats on arrival at Nezumi's side, and the pair fall into step beside each other.

"What? Is that all you can say now? 'Nezumi'?" he mocks, but there is a certain warmth to his eyes.

Shion scowls, but quickly remembers what he wanted to ask about. "Uh... You know," he starts, drawing up the dredges of his confidence, "you seem like the cool, calm and collected type. Even when you're angry, you're calm about it. I can't really imagine you shouting or screaming or crying or laughing hysterically."

He glances up to judge Nezumi's reaction, and is greeted by a raised eyebrow and a silence that encourages him to get to the point. Shion quickly lowers his gaze to his hands, which he's wringing nervously.

"Well, because of that, I... It just seemed sort of... out of character, I guess, when, earlier, you... got all flustered. In class, when Mr. Hendrick called on you."

For a moment, Nezumi doesn't react, and Shion thinks that perhaps he isn't listening - but then he sighs deeply and roughly, and his expression when Shion looks his way is cold. "I was thinking. He startled me."

Shion raises an eyebrow, though is slightly unsettled by the sudden change in temperature. "Really? Are you sure?" He intends to stop there, before he pushes this mysterious and frankly intimidating enigma too far, but his stupid mouth won't shut and he finds himself blabbering, "Are you sure you're okay? Because it didn't look like you were just 'thinking' to me."

Shion immediately regrets saying it and mentally slaps himself._ You moron!_

"Why is it any of your business?" Nezumi's voice is sharp and Shion feels like he's just been sliced open with an icicle. It stings.

_Can't give up now, I suppose. _"I was just concerned about you."

Nezumi glares blankly at him. "I never asked for your concern. I don't need it. I'm not a sensitive, sheltered kid like you." With that, he increases his pace and strides away.

Shion doesn't bother following. The white-haired man slows to a stop and stares after the retreating figure, absently clutching at the unpleasant feeling in his stomach. He is - quite stupidly, he realises - surprised at the sudden icy behaviour. Shion can't even find it in himself to protest being called a 'kid'.

_You jerk... I'll be as concerned about you as I want._

* * *

"Shion?"

He starts at the hushed whisper from beside him. "Safu? What is it?"

She shakes her head. "Your movements are sluggish and you're sighing every few minutes, not to mention you keep rubbing at your left knee, which I know tends to flare up when you're not feeling well." She pauses, and bites her lip. "You just seem..."

Shion cracks a smile, despite the heaviness in his chest. "I appreciate that you're worried, but it's really nothing. I'm fine."

"But-"

"Really," he cuts her off firmly. "I'm just... nervous for tomorrow's test."

Safu nods slowly. "Okay. If it helps, you can borrow my notes?"

"Thank you. I'd like that."

Shion tries his best to reign in his sighs for the rest of the lesson; Safu is suspicious of Nezumi enough as it is. Shion doesn't want to add to her worry for him and her growing dislike of Nezumi by burdening her with his mundane troubles.

Still, for the rest of the day - through Ecology, after class, in the library, at home and even in bed that night - he can't help thinking about what caused such a one-eighty in his new friend's attitude towards him.


	5. Chapter 5

**An interesting chapter to write. Sorry, not much of Shion here.**

**I can't seem to decide whether this universe uses Japanese or Western names, so forgive the odd mixture of the two...**

* * *

_**Love All, Trust A Few, Do Wrong To None**_

* * *

"Woah, Nezumi! What happened to your face?"

Safu watches nervously as students flock around him. Two days was plenty of time for their... _disagreement_ to become very, very obvious in the form of a deep purple bruise accompanied by scarlet scab across his left cheekbone. She winces. It looks painful.

"Seriously," another student is saying as she bends over to peer at it intrusively. Nezumi shies away from his friendly classmate, though she seems oblivious. "Did you get into a street fight or something?"

Her boyfriend laughs. "It's an impressive bruise, that's for sure!"

Nezumi glowers out of the window. After a brief pause, he says, "... I fell."

The laughter increases in volume. "No _way_."

A sharp sound echoes around the room as Nezumi slaps a prying hand away. "Don't touch it," he growls.

"Hey, sorry. Didn't realise it was that sore... Oh man, it's swollen! Look," he addresses his friends, ushering them over (to Nezumi's chagrin). "From this angle, you can really see it's swollen."

Nezumi sighs irritably. "Have none of you ever seen a bruise before?"

"Not one as bad as that!"

The longer the pre-class conversation continues, the guiltier Safu feels. It had just been a brief moment of misdirected anger - anger at Shion's behaviour more than Nezumi's, really - and the man had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time, teasing the wrong person. She sighs. _Maybe I should apologise. If for no other reason than to make sure he doesn't get me in detention - or worse, suspended._

Chancing a glance over at the tall man, she quickly decides that now is not the appropriate time to do so, however, as Nezumi is stubbornly refusing to admit who punched him, adamant that he simply 'fell' - to his classmates' amusement.

_I'll apologise after class_.

A thought suddenly occurs to her, and she sits up a little straighter. _Class. It's the beginning of class. The teacher's late._ She narrows her eyes imperceptibly. _And so is Shion_.

She wonders vaguely if he overslept; it's one of Shion's bad habits. Usually she would know because they walk to school together - understandable since they live in the same street - but today Safu had texted Shion saying she'd be getting a lift from her grandmother, who was driving down to the lake to go fishing with a friend.

She belatedly realises she never received a reply.

_I wonder if he's okay? He did seem a little spacey yesterday... _Her brow knits at the thought. _He's been so unpredictable lately_.

There's a small click as the door opens and their homeroom teacher stumbles into the classroom looking uncharacteristically unkempt. "Okay, okay, everyone, I'm here now. You can all shut up while I do rollcall."

Safu blinks lazily as the teacher runs quickly through the list of names, her monotonous voice a mindless drone in the background of her thoughts. It drifts so far into the background that Safu almost misses her name, and quickly stammers, "Uh, here," and clears her throat. After recovering from her surprise, she sighs and unconsciously purses her lips in deep thought, her chin coming to rest on her left palm.

"Shion."

It's silent. Safu perks up.

"... Okay, one absent."

Safu narrows her eyes. She resists the urge to roll them at the thought that Shion overslept again, but inside she's irrationally concerned. _It's not like anything could have happened to him. Stop being ridiculous_, she scolds herself, but she can't quite bring herself to believe the words.

* * *

Halfway through third period, Safu's worries get the better of her. She conveniently sits in the back row and her teacher is concentrating on teaching the class about the global aftereffects of deforestation; but Safu has read ahead and is already fully informed of the potential consequences of humanity's selfish actions.

She smoothly reaches down and pulls out her phone from the front pocket of her schoolbag. Inwardly, she curses Shion for distracting her from lessons and making her break the school rules like this as she begins to text. She leans further back into her chair so that the downwards inclination of her head is less obvious, and turns her attention to the small letter keys that are too far away from her eyes.

Slender fingers quickly type, _Where are you?_

Checking to make sure her phone is on silent, she stares impatiently at the whiteboard as she waits for a response. She recieves one surprisingly quickly.

_Home. Overslept and ill. Coming at lunch_

She furrows her brow. _Why are you coming into school if you're ill? Stay at home._

_Important exam prep p5, can't miss it,_ the swift reply reads. Safu begins to type, but her message is interrupted by another text, added on seemingly as an afterthought: _Texting during class?_

Safu can't help the small smirk, but delays her reply as she notices the teacher striding in her direction. She places the phone in her lap between the folds of her skirt and tries not to look too suspicious, not bothering to correct her lazy slouch.

"Safu," her Geography teacher's voice murmurs quietly, with a hint of surprise overshadowing her annoyance. "Use of cellphones is forbidden during class. You know that," she says disapprovingly.

Safu sits up straighter at the accusation. "I wasn't using my ph-" _Clack_.

The teacher raises an eyebrow at the phone now on the floor, then glances back up to meet Safu's embarrassed gaze and folds her arms. "You weren't using your phone, eh?"

Safu stays quiet and breaks eye contact.

The teacher sighs, bending to pick up the device from where it had fallen out of Safu's lap and, to Safu's surprise, returns it to her. "Since it's you, Safu, I'll overlook this. But don't let me catch you with it again."

"Yes, miss," Safu mumbles, accepting her phone with some chagrin and slipping it back into her bag.

The rest of the lesson is spent silently fuming in embarrassment at having been caught, and as she hurries to leave the classroom, she decides she isn't cut out for all this rule-breaking business.

* * *

Chestnut eyes flick around in an attempt to catch sight of Shion's elusive new friend. She ignores the curious glances as she turns around on the spot in the centre of the corridor and focuses her attention on searching for the man she really would rather not be searching for.

"Ruka," she calls on a whim as the lanky blonde passes her.

He raises an eyebrow. "Safu? What a surprise," he says dryly, though with a hint of curiosity. "What do you want?"

She fingers the lapel of her coat restlessly. "Have you seen Nezumi? I wanted to speak to him after class, but as soon as he got out of the door he just... vanished."

"Nezumi, huh." Ruka purses his lips in thought. "I didn't see him, but if you're looking for him, he's most likely somewhere without people. It seems that guy really values his personal space."

Safu nods slowly, before straightening her posture resolutely. "Okay."

She abruptly turns on her heel and strides back down the way she came, ignoring the annoyed drawl of, "A 'thank you' wouldn't hurt!" from behind her.

_Someplace without people, eh..._ She hums in thought. _It's lunchbreak, so there are people everywhere. Even in some of the classrooms, if they can't bear the canteen. Plus it's sunny and warm today, so there are lots of people outside..._

Her eyes widen fractionally and she subconsciously increases her pace until she is almost speeding down the sparsely-populated halls._ If I factor in his connection with Shion..._

She pushes through the heavy-duty door, unmindful of the No Access To Students sign pasted across it, without even glancing around to double-check her privacy. Safu has the best reputation in the school amongst the staff, and she doubts any would call her out on this minor slip-up.

Safu has only been up to the roof once since she began the school, and that was when she was looking for Shion so he could help her reject a boy's love confession. In the end, Shion wasn't much help and had insisted it would be better if she were to tell the boy herself that his feelings weren't requited.

Needless to say, the roof doesn't exactly hold many happy memories for her -not like it does for Shion (or at least, that's what he said to her once).

"Can I talk to you for a minute?"

The dark ponytail flutters in the air as the tall man flinches. He turns away from the railing on which he had been leaning and fixes her with a look that is too surprised to be a glare.

Safu takes his silence for acceptance, and continues anyway. "Look, Nezumi,"she starts, her voice slightly strangled. Apologies aren't her kind of thing. "Yesterday, when I hit you - I shouldn't have. You really piss me off, but that time I was more angry at... at Shion, than at you. So I shouldn't have taken it out on you."

The words 'I'm sorry' don't pass her lips, but the message is understood.

She is about to say something else, but then -

"Shut up."

Safu blinks.

"I don't care." Nezumi's words are harsh, but there is no bite behind them. Safu remains quiet, still a little stunned at his reaction. After a moment, he continues. "Whether you're sorry or not makes no difference to me. You punched me. So what? It's not as if it was the first time someone's done it. And I've dealt a number of my own."

"But-"

"Look, don't apologise," he snaps, turning to face her fully, one hand still on the metal railing. "I probably deserved it anyway." With this, he pushes off the railing and glides past her.

When he's about twenty feet away, almost at the door, he pauses, and without glancing back, he calls, "And don't worry. Your precious reputation won't be marred. I won't tell anyone."

"Why?" she manages to demand through a haze of confusion.

At this, Nezumi does glance behind him, and though his expression is carefully neutral, Safu is sure there is some hidden emotion he's supressing. His stance is stiff, his fists are clenched and his jaw is set - but he radiates no anger in his piercing grey stare.

Before Safu can ask him about this, he turns away and vanishes through the access door, almost as if he was just an image on the wind.

* * *

_Dammit_, he hisses mentally. Nezumi's footsteps echo eerily around the barren corridor, and he idly wonders where everyone is.

_That old man's a lecherous bastard, but at least he gives good advice. 'Don't get involved with people', he always says. 'Look out for number one'. 'Getting close to people only makes things difficult and complicated'. Dammit._

His long strides bring him to his classroom before he's even realised where he's going, and he freezes awkwardly in the doorway as he realises he has no idea why he's here. "Dammit," he mutters again, this time aloud. After a brief glance around the empty room, he catches sight of the large clock hanging tiredly above the whiteboard. It's almost the end of lunchbreak.

He backs out of the small room and heads down the stairs. The rumble of lunchtime chatter is audible now, though he smoothly evades it down a narrow corridor - a bit of a long way round, but less troublesome than cutting straight through the canteen and risking a run-in with his classmates (who just can't seem to get enough of talking to him, despite his unsavoury attitude). He reaches his next class five minutes before the bell rings and settles onto a stool beside an old electric keyboard in the corner.

Music is one of Nezumi's electives, and though he's been at the school for a good few weeks, this will be his first lesson. Up until now, the headmistress has been pulling him out of his Music lessons to force him to attend counselling sessions, because she's afraid he might become a 'problem student'. Nezumi isn't a 'problem student'. He just wants to be left to mind his own business, but the people around him always seem to get the impression - how on Earth they manage, Nezumi has no idea - that he's a friendly, sociable guy who's just a little shy.

During his sessions he has made sure to say all the right things and respond in all the correct ways to maximise the probability of escaping the headmistress's watchful eyes. Thankfully, the system is easy to fool, thus he finds himself in his Music class, with absolutely no idea what anyone is doing.

An image of Safu's livid expression flickers behind his eyelids, unbidden. It is swiftly followed by Shion - first smiling happily and naively, and then glaring at him with murderous intent, eyes blood-red like a demon.

That was how his classmates had described him after his argument with Safu. 'Demonic'.

The image shakes Nezumi to his core.

Before he can dwell any more on the matter, however, the first students begin to arrive, followed swiftly by a bald man wearing a large red earring, who Nezumi assumes is the teacher.

The man is rather tall and doesn't bother to quieten the class as they enter the room, instead sitting behind his desk in the far corner. He keeps glancing around the room and then back to his laptop screen, and Nezumi realises he must be doing rollcall.

It seems very odd that he doesn't seem to be doing much of anything, letting the students mill around and more or less do what they like, and the dark-haired man is a hair's breadth away from saying something about it, when a thought suddenly strikes him.

It's an independent class. Everyone knows what they're doing and is getting on with it themselves.

A brief scan of the classroom's occupants confirms this, and Nezumi gets the urge to slam his head into a wall.

But he merely purses his lips irritably as he strides up to the quirky teacher.

"Excuse me?" he asks, his tone polite but cold.

The man glances up, and Nezumi is taken aback by how old he looks up close; wrinkles litter his face and his jowels are barely hidden by his shirt collar. "Yes, uh...?" he trails off as if attempting to remember Nezumi's name, but a spark of realisation lights up his blue eyes. "You must be the transfer student!"

Nezumi isn't sure whether or not to be insulted by this man's obvious astonishment. "Yes, and it appears that everyone knows what to do except me."

The old man cracks a youthful grin and lets out a chuckle. "Yes well, that's what happens when you transfer in halfway through the year." He doesn't seem to mean this in a bad way, and quickly continues. "My name is Mr. Knox, but as one of my students, you have the privilege to call me Rob."

"My name is Nezumi. It's a pleasure to meet you sir."

Rob looks only a little put-out at the 'sir'. "The pleasure is mine, Nezumi. Now..." He cranes his neck around Nezumi to take a good look at the class, before gesturing in one student's direction. "I hear you are quite gifted, Nezumi. I have one student who seems to be struggling a little - his performances are magical, but his compositions... Let's just say they leave a lot to be desired." He flashes a smile. "Perhaps you could offer him some friendly guidance?"

Nezumi raises an eyebrow but saunters off in the direction of the vague gesture anyway. He isn't really interested in helping other people; if they can't compose a piece of music, why the hell are they even in this class?

Still, it gives him something to do.

The student indicated is sitting hunched over a keyboard (it appears the school could only be bothered to buy one actual piano, and so most students have to make do with electric keyboards while composing). His deep violet shirt abruptly reminds Nezumi of Shion's eyes, though only the sleeves are visible, the rest hidden under a baggy black sleeveless sweater. There's an oversized woolly hat on his head, concealing short hair.

Nezumi gazes impassively at the student's back for a few moments longer as he ponders how to initiate contact. He isn't the friendly type and greetings like 'Hey there!' really aren't his style. He supposes he can tap the boy on the shoulder, but from the looks of things he's so engrossed in his work he might flinch away, or even scream. One thing Nezumi wants less than having to deal with an incapable Music student is having to deal with a _flustered_ incapable music student.

Eventually, he slides into an adjacent seat, crossing his legs gracefully and leaning into his palm, elbow on the desk, in order to see what the student is writing.

Instead of messy staves, though, Nezumi's attention is captured by the puff of thick white hair protruding from the front of the hat. Grey eyes widen, zoning in on the man's face, and dark glasses are just about visible through the haze of messy snowy hair.

"Shion?"

As expected, Shion lets out an unmanly yelp, his head bolting up to meet Nezumi's slack-jawed stare, and squeaks again as his knee makes sharp contact with the desk. He swears under his breath, dropping his pencil to rub at the injured kneecap.

Nezumi resists - with great difficulty - the urge to glare and/or roll his eyes at the stupidity of the person in front of him, and instead asks intelligently, "Why are you here?"

"Oh _gee_, I don't know, maybe because I _take Music?_" Shion grinds out through gritted teeth, his attention still mostly focused on his smarting knee as he attempts to massage some feeling back into it.

Nezumi raises an eyebrow, still inwardly shocked at the revelation. "What's a science nerd like you doing in a Music class?"

Shion shoots him an indecipherable look. He ignores the question. "Why are _you_ here? Sitting next to me, I mean?"

"The teacher sent me. He said your compositions 'leave a lot to be desired'," Nezumi drawls icily.

The glare he receives from the usually cheerful man is equally as cold. "Well then wouldn't it be best if you didn't concern yourself with such _commoners_? I'm sure you'd be much better off writing your own music rather than trying to help someone who so _obviously_ shouldn't be here."

Nezumi's eyes are wide. He wasn't expecting that reaction. _What the fuck is _wrong_ with this guy? Is he bipolar? _"I'm sorry to intrude on your personal space. It appears failing requires a lot more room that I thought." His upper lip curls slightly in irritation. "Not that _I_ would know anything about that." He stands up suddenly, the squeal of chair leg against wooden floor going mostly unnoticed in the noisy room. Nezumi shoots the shorter man one last cool glare before composing himself enough to leave the room with enough dignity not to slam the door behind him.

"What the hell?" he mutters angrily to himself as soon as he turns into the empty corridor. _What is _up _with him? One moment he's all happy and smiley and the next he looks as if he's about to kill me! What did_ I _do? _

_If this is about his argument with that Safu girl... _Nezumi's brow furrows. _Maybe he's just in a bad mood because of it. She _is _his best friend. _He snorts. _I didn't think Shion was _capable_ of bad moods._

His pace slows somewhat as the fiery anger within him mellows out. _Still, it doesn't matter what mood he was in. People just don't do that. It's rude, and completely unjustified, and... _Nezumi's brain makes a strange gurgling sound as the irritation returns, and he exits the building, temporarily squinting against the harsh afternoon sunlight. He lifts a black-clad arm to his face, shielding his eyes. He stops just outside the gate, standing still in the middle of the road (which is thankfully empty).

_Why do _I _care, anyway? It's of no consequence to me who he riles up in his free time. _He pauses. _Except when she takes her anger out on me, that is_. He bites back a sigh, and tilts his head back, staring into the bright cerulean sky. _I don't care how Shion treats me. I don't give two shits about him_.

_I don't._


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry if this chapter is kinda boring... I felt it was, when I wrote it. It also feels really rushed through the most important parts... so I'm sorry. **

**Anyone else looking forward to Eurovision tomorrow?**

**Disclaimer.**

* * *

**_Love_****_ All, Trust A Few, Do Wrong To None_**

* * *

Shion lets out a breathy sigh, lilac eyes dull and half-lidded as he gazes absently out of the window. Today, it feels like an effort to even move, let alone take coherent, legible notes. He isn't exactly well-known for his handwriting in the first place.

Every time Nezumi and he make eye contact - and even when they don't - Shion gets an intensely uncomfortable feeling in his gut that makes him feel almost as if he's skydiving on a bloated stomach. It's irritating and inconvenient to deal with, and ends up making most of their conversations very awkward; although that might partly be due to Nezumi's recent strange behaviour. One moment Shion thinks they're nearly friends, and the next Nezumi's giving him the cold shoulder and refusing to utter more than the bare minimum of words to him.

The unpredictability doesn't exactly help calm Shion's nerves.

_It's just becoming so difficult to talk to him! _he thinks with exaperation. _Maybe I'll talk to Safu about it. She's a practical person; she might know what to do_.

* * *

"Tell him."

Shion chokes on his drink. He gapes at her. "What, just go up to him and say it?" he says, his face the picture of shock and disbelief, with just a hint of panic. At her casual nod, he shakes his head forcefully. "No. No, I can't."

Safu relaxes further into her slouch, sprawled across her desk with her chin on her arms. "Why not? Tell Nezumi you feel weird and nervous when you're with him, and things will sort themselves out."

"_How_, exactly, will humiliating myself sort things out?"

"Well..." The brunette casts a sidelong glance out of the window. "Either he'll tell you he feels the same way, and then you can work through whatever these feelings are together... Or, he'll offer a possible explanation for why you're feeling this way." She pauses, and meets her best friend's worried stare. "Or, you know, he'll tell you you're a freak and never talk to you again."

Shion doesn't flinch when Safu reaches across the small desk to close his mouth, which had been hanging open in horror. In fact, he continues to stare blankly and wide-eyed at her for a good few seconds before he responds. "But if he never talks to me again, then how-"

She cuts him off. "If there's no contact between you, these feelings will gradually decrease in intensity until you've forgotten he even exists."

Shion opens his mouth to reply, then shuts it again with a weak noise of protest. He looks away, taking his time to absorb the view of the small, empty Geography classroom they're currently dining in, and trying his very best to avoid the conversation he really wishes he hadn't started.

After an awkwardly extended silence, Safu finally says, "I'm not surprised, you know."

Shion blinks, his attention once more drawn back to her. "About what?"

"About..." She trails off quietly, before restarting in a quieter tone. "About this." She gestures vaguely to him. "About how you feel."

Shion isn't afraid to admit he's a little stunned at the admittance, because he himself had been _very_ surprised - among other things, like confused, scared, and oddly defiant - when he'd realised that his feelings towards Nezumi aren't normal. He's still confused, in fact, but judging by the expression on Safu's face, it seems she has a deeper idea of what's going on.

Still, Shion doesn't ask. He isn't sure he wants to know.

* * *

He wanders the halls, unsure of where he's going. To be honest, he isn't quite sure why he isn't in World History right now - Shion isn't a fan of ditching class. But it wasn't as if he was actually absorbing any knowledge in his lessons today anyway. His attention span is currently pathetic at best. He'd realised he probably needed a break when he caught himself writing Nezumi's name in the margin of his Ecology notes.

Still, now that he's finally free from the claustrophobic setting, Shion finds he has little to do. This is his last lesson of the day, so he supposes if he's going to cut class he might as well go home; it's this thought that sets his feet walking faster, but it is a different thought entirely which finds him outside his classroom, waiting anxiously for the class to end.

_Nezumi's in that classroom, _he thinks._ He's probably forgetting to take notes again._

Shion slaps himself lightly on the forehead. _What are you even doing here? Weren't you skipping class five minutes ago? Weren't you going to go home early so you could go grocery shopping with Mama? Now look, you're standing directly outside the class you're ditching - you're a sitting duck, a walking detention magnet._

Shion inhales deeply, letting out the breath slowly and evenly. _You're here because you think that talking to Nezumi about some of your issues with him will help clear the air._

_Read: Barging into his private life because you're curious._

Shion sighs and settles himself a little further down the corridor to wait for class to end. Here, the teacher won't see him, but he has a good enough view of the door to keep an eye out for Nezumi.

Twenty agonising minutes later, the first students begin to trickle down the corridor. Their density quickly increases to the point where Shion considers calling crowd control, and eventually his own classroom door swings open noisily, the loud slam as it hits the wall drowned out by the students.

Nezumi is the last to leave the classroom, and by this point the home-time rush has died back down into just the meagre few who were let out of class late.

"Nezumi." Shion sidesteps into the middle of the corridor, blocking Nezumi's path and stopping him in his tracks.

Nezumi eyes him with an unreadable expression. "What?" he says curtly.

_Why did you lie about going to prison?_

Shion wants to say the words, but they won't leave his mouth. He stands just inches away from the taller man, staring into his stormy eyes with faltering determination for thirty seconds before he gives up and turns away, making to leave.

... At least, Shion's brain is pretty sure that's what he told his body to do. But for some reason, he finds himself pinned roughly to the lockers, the padlock digging into his back barely registered as his mind is too busy screaming _NezumiNezumiNezumi _because he is pushing Shion up against the cold metal, one hand gripping his wrist, pinning it to the locker and one gripping his collar.

"Either talk to me or don't talk to me, Shion. Make up your _fucking_ mind," he spits venemously, and Shion shivers. The usually cold slate irises are aflame, burning with anger and unadulterated emotion as they glare directly into Shion's wide violet eyes. His mouth is twisted in a ferocious half-snarl.

For the first time since meeting him, Shion is afraid of Nezumi.

"I am _sick to death _of you - one moment you act like I'm your best friend and the next you treat me like a _piece of shit_ on the _sole of your shoe!_ How am I supposed to react to that, huh? _Tell me!_" he growls, reiterating his words with a painful shove against the lockers. He doesn't let go of Shion's collar, and the cool hand against Shion's wrist becomes painfully tight. "Tell me what I'm supposed to do, because I have no fucking clue! You're so _confusing_!"

The grips on his collar tightens, and Shion panics. He belatedly realises he's holding his schoolbag in his free hand. Summoning all of his strength, he blindly swings the loaded bag at the taller man. As soon as he reliquishes his grip just a little, Shion worms out of the trap and stumbles away, not daring to look back as he sprints down the corridor.

Nezumi's words ring in his ears - _You're so confusing! _- and he shouts back wildly, "_That's my line!_"

He doesn't hang around to see Nezumi's reaction.

* * *

_I can't believe I did that._ Shion sighs, wincing slightly at the memory. He isn't particularly strong, but - contrary to popular belief - he isn't a _total_ wimp. Plus, his schoolbag is always heaviest on Tuesdays. _What a way to try to be friends, huh? Shout at him and hit him with my bag. Like an old lady. _

Shion almost laughs at the last thought. Almost.

But at that very moment, Nezumi decides to make his entrance. The door is pushed open timidly and it seems almost no one notices as the dark-haired man stealthily slinks to his seat.

Except, it's not his seat. No, Nezumi's seat is directly to Shion's right. The chair Nezumi is slouched sullenly in is in the back right corner of the classroom, about five seats away.

Shion stares at him blatantly, pretty sure that Nezumi would be able to tell whether he was staring or not no matter how subtle he was. The taller man is relaxed into his typical slouch - no, that's not right. He's slouching, but he is obviously _far_ from relaxed. His shoulders are stiff and his jaw is set, eyes half-lidded with bubbling anger as he fumes silently to himself. He appears to be deeply interested in the posters for next week's Music Cup on the noticeboard beside him, but Shion is ninety percent certain the man hasn't even realised what he's glaring daggers at. It's as if his face is deliberately turned away from Shion...

Lavender eyes widen. Even through the dark lenses he can clearly see the smudge of a bruise on Nezumi's jawline where his schoolbag had made contact the day previously._ I didn't realise I hit him that hard. _Shion frowns in guilt and turns away. _Must've been the adrenaline rush_.

The door opens loudly as Safu strides through it, shrouded in an air of importance. She begins to make a determined beeline for Shion, but backtracks none-too-subtly as she notices her dark-haired classmate's appearance. His usually sleek hair is pulled back into a ragged bun, the odd strand falling haphazardly over his face and shoulders. There are dark circles beneath dull eyes and his lips are set thinly and are quite pale - as is the rest of his face, for that matter. And if that isn't enough to convince his classmates that something's up - Nezumi isn't exactly known for his fashion sense, but the blue jumper has a coffee stain and is oversized in all the wrong places, and what kind of self-respecting student wears _tracksuit bottoms_ to class?

Shion watches as Safu continues to drink in Nezumi's appalling state with a mixture of interest and horror. However, it appears her main focus is not on his appearance in general, but one specific detail.

"What happened?"

Shion cringes at the question, and cringes even more at the accompanying hand gesture towards the tall student's face.

Nezumi's wearied glare is redirected from the noticeboard to the short woman before him. "None of your business," he spits vehemently, perhaps a little more aggressively than is necessary.

Safu's eyebrows shoot up and she takes on an expression of vague annoyance, but she doesn't goad him further. Instead, she turns and hurries up to her best friend, clearly eager to hear the gossip. "Shion? Do you know about...?" She glances warily in Nezumi's direction, but he is once again attempting to intimidate the wall into non-existence.

Shion lets out a deep sigh and nods, raking a hand through silvery locks. "Yeah, I... I was kinda... the one who gave it to him."

"_What?_" Safu hisses, though more with shock than anything else. "I thought you were going to tell him how you feel, not beat him up!"

"Okay, _okay_!" Shion rasps, cursing inwardly when he notices his hand shaking as he cards it through his hair again. "I didn't go up to him with the _intention_ of swinging my bag at him! He just..." Shion looks helplessly at his desk, as if it would provide him with all the answers.

"He just what? Did he start a fight?" Safu asks, but quickly answers herself with a shake of her head. "No, you're unscathed, and I doubt you have the skill to be able to land one on him in a fistfight anyway."

Shion ignores the unintentional jab. "No, I mean... Okay, I went up to him and I thought that maybe if I got him to answer some of my questions, it would sort out these mixed feelings. But in the end I thought it was just too personal, you know? If he doesn't want to tell me, I shouldn't force him to."

Safu drags up a chair to Shion's desk and slides into it, sitting opposite him. She nods, urging him to continue. "Yeah, and? So you decided _not_ to tell him after all... But then how-" She waves a hand towards her own face.

"Well, Nezumi, he-" Shion bites his lip. "I'm not sure, but he suddenly just... flipped. He told me that..." He trails off into a pause, ivory brows knitting in deep thought as a small revelation hits him.

_Hang on just a second._

"I was too scared to think about what he was saying at the time, considering I thought I was about to die and all," Shion begins again slowly, not quite sure whether he's overthinking this or whether he might have just begun to figure the dark-haired mystery out. "But actually... It was sort of contradictory. First he was acting like he hated me, and he practically _told_ me that he did - but then he seemed less angry and just more _frustrated_. And confused."

"Confused?" Safu interrupts. "Shion, you don't threaten people just because you're _confused_."

"No, you don't get it. Nezumi said-" Shion suddenly glances over to the man in question, only just realising he's in the room. He hopes desperately that the taller man hasn't heard what they've said, and he lowers his voice. "He said to me, '_You're so confusing_'."

Safu blinks. After a moment - during which Shion swears he can _hear_ the cogs turning in her mind - she says abruptly, "Wait. What did he say just before that?"

"Huh?"

She sighs impatiently. "What did Nezumi say just before he said that you're confusing?"

"He said... something about not knowing what to do. What he's supposed to do." Shion nimbly pushes his glasses back up the bridge of his nose. "And also something about how I've been - what was it? - oh yeah, about treating him like a piece of shit," he finishes with an appropriate lump of guilt in his throat.

Safu makes a small humming noise in the back of her throat, and Shion raises an eyebrow, tapping short fingernails restlessly on the desk. "So he doesn't know what to do about your behaviour? Or he doesn't know how to _react_ to it?"

"Uh-" Shion blinks, and clears his throat. "I don't know. He didn't specify. He was too busy half-choking me."

Safu tips her head to the side as she examines the man in front of her. Shion's discomfort increases tenfold under her scrutiny, and he unconsciously hunches lower in his seat in an attempt to make it appear that the linoleum flooring has gobbled him up as a late breakfast. "Shion," she finally says, somewhat apprehensively. "Are you okay? You seem jumpy, and restless, and your hands are shaking. You're usually so calm."

"Yeah, I'm okay, I just... Nezumi, yesterday, he was..." Shion's voice drops to a whisper, "really scary." At Safu's surprise, he adds, "You didn't see him, Safu. After that, it's not so difficult to imagine him in prison."

Safu purses her lips. "Not to dredge up bad memories, but that wasn't exactly the first time you've been in that sort of situation, Shion."

"I know." Shion turns away, half-covering his face with a slender palm. "But it's been a while since I have, and those bullies were always predictable. I could anticipate what they were going to do and so I usually managed to worm my way out of it before things got too serious. But Nezumi..." Shion sighs, and lilac eyes close. "I had _no idea_ what was going to happen next. _That_ was the scary part."

* * *

_I should have guessed._

Nezumi hasn't turned up to World History, so Shion is sitting alone. It's the only class they really have together; they share a Music class, but they usually work in different groups now after their small spat over Shion's composing abilities, and homeroom can hardly be counted as a class. World History is their only time to properly interact.

That's why Shion isn't surprised when he doesn't turn up. Why would Nezumi want to talk to Shion after what happened?

The problem is, _Shion_ wants to talk to _Nezumi_.

_Maybe it's easier for me to let it go because I was the one who hit him. But then, he was also pretty violent, so that doesn't make sense_...

Shion's brow furrows. What had the taller man even been talking about? 'You're so confusing' and 'either talk to me or don't talk to me'... Oh.

_Oh_.

The albino resists the sudden intense urge to whack himself in the face with his textbook. _How could I have been such a moron? Here I am, getting all muddled about Nezumi and completely ignoring Nezumi himself. I've been so caught up in being confused that I've been a total jerk recently! No wonder he was angry; I've been so on and off with him recently. First I try to be friends, then I get confused and distance myself, then... Ugh, Shion, you idiot_.

The scene from the previous afternoon replays itself like an old movie in his head, a crackle of white noise in the background as he attempts to analyze the situation and watch the movie simultaneously.

_'Tell me what I'm supposed to do, because I have no fucking clue! You're so _confusing_!'_

_'That's my line!'_

Lavender eyes narrow to slits and his vision sharpens. _I'm not the only one with inconsistent behaviour. Perhaps Nezumi, for the same reason... No, no way. That's ridiculous, he wouldn't... about me..._

Still, Shion can't quite squash the thought - or the unwelcome fluttery feelings in his stomach at the possibility - and it nips at his ears for a long time afterwards.

* * *

_No, Shion. You're being really stupid about this. God, you're acting like some lovesick schoolgirl in a bad rom-com. _He shakes his head firmly at the thought_. Think about it logically. The likelihood that Nezumi is also having strange feelings like you are is reasonably small. Yes, you are probably the person he interacts with most at school, but that doesn't mean you're _friends_. It just means he hates you less than everyone else. Which is quite flattering, to be honest, coming from someone so... What's the word? How do I describe him? 'Cool'? 'Awe-inspiring'? 'Amazing'? No, not quite. It's not like he's particularly out of the ordinary. I'm just... drawn to him. He isn't someone who stands out, but he stands out to me. Or something. Sometimes, it feels like he- _"Aaaugh!"

"Shit-"

Shion's eyes latch onto stormy grey ones, which widen slightly at the eye contact. There's a brief - but horribly awkward - silence as they stare at each other, both a little two stunned to attempt any sort of social intercourse.

"Nezumi..." The word dies on his tongue, and it comes out weedy and quiet. He tries again, this time slightly more confidently. "Nezumi, it's five o'clock."

The younger man seems to debate whether to reply or just leave, but after a moment he says, "I can tell the time, thanks."

Shion breaks the unbearably awkward eye contact, glancing down at Nezumi's shoes. They're tough, heavy biker boots. _Figures_.

"Why are you still at school?"

"I was studying... in the library," Shion says, and though it's the truth, it still feels sort of lame saying it out loud. "What about you?"

Nezumi shifts his weight to the other foot and looks away. There's an uncomfortable-looking grimace on his face, and Shion guesses he's reluctant to answer. _Why? It can't be any more embarrassing than voluntary studying _- "Poetry club."

Shion blinks, and almost asks Nezumi to repeat that, because it was so quiet - but no, Nezumi most _definitely_ said 'poetry club'. "Oh. That's, uh... cool." Shion cringes at his own words, and clears his throat. "So, uh-"

"Yeah."

They simultaneously turn away from each other and walk away as quickly as possible, gathering up the remains of their shredded pride as they go.


End file.
